Actor Kamal Haasan has filed a John Doe suit (a case filed against unknown individuals/entities) before the Madras High Court to protect his personality rights and prevent commercial exploitation of his name, initials, portraits, images or any other attributes related to his persona without his express consent.
Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy is expected to hear the actor’s suit as well as his plea for interim injunctions on Monday (January 12, 2026). In his plaint, the 71-year-old actor told the court that he has been in the film industry since childhood and created a niche for himself through his expertise in various art forms.
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Referring to a specific instance of a Chennai-based firm named ‘Neeye Vidai’ selling T-shirts and shirts printed with his portraits, name, initials, his title ‘Ulaganayagan’ and famous dialogues from his movies without his consent, the actor sought an injunction against the firm as well as all other unknown entities who indulge in such acts.
In his main suit, the actor had sought a permanent injunction against ‘Neeye Vidai’ as well as John Doe (a name used for the unknown entities) and their associates, agents, servants, affiliates, holding companies, assignees, substitutes, representatives, group companies, their subscribers, employees and such other persons.
