Mumbai: Amazon Prime India has been directed by Bombay High Court to take down a Telugu movie from its platform unless and until the makers delete a scene in which an actor’s picture was allegedly used without her consent.
Justice Gautam Patel delivered the ruling while hearing a defamation suit, filed by model and actor Sakshi Malik against Venkateswara Creations Pvt Ltd, in which she claimed her photograph has been used without permission in the movie ‘V’.
The film, released on September 5, 2020, is available on Amazon Prime.
Malik claimed that she had commissioned a lensman in 2017 to create her portfolio.
“In August 2017, she (Malik) posted some photographs from the portfolio on her Instagram account. One of these photos was used in a scene of the Telugu movie where there is a reference to a female escort or a commercial sex worker,” the petition stated.
Malik’s advocates argued that this was a “wholly unauthorised invasion of privacy” and, most importantly, the complaint is about the “nature of use of the photograph.” Using the image to depict a sex worker is defamatory, they contended.
“Prima facie, I believe he is correct. Indeed, I do not believe there is any other way of looking at it,” the judge noted.
