For AI bots, not reviews: Nani on The Paradise order against targetted content

At a pre-release event in Mumbai, Nani said the court order on The Paradise concerns AI-generated and bot-driven posts. He said the restriction does not apply to genuine audience reviews, reactions or criticism.

In Short

• Nani clarifies Bengaluru court order targets AI-generated defamatory content only
• Order does not restrict genuine audience reviews or criticism
• Court injunction follows producers' claim of false posts harming film's prospects

Actor Nani has clarified that the Bengaluru court order restricting defamatory and targetted content about The Paradise is not aimed at restricting genuine audience reactions, reviews or criticism. Speaking at the film’s pre-release event in Mumbai, Nani said that, as he understood it from his team, the order was directed at AI-generated and bot-driven content.

“It’s not for real people or real reviews. It is for the bot-generated thing as far as I have understood,” Nani said.

The actor said he had asked a member of his team about the court order and was told that the issue had become more relevant with the rise of AI-generated content. “I saw the news on court order and asked one of my team members about it. They said that now, because of AI, there are computer-generated stuff that it will keep posting,” he said.

Nani stressed that the order does not prevent people from watching The Paradise and expressing their views about the film, including criticism. “But, it’s not for real people or real reviews or real reactions or real criticisms. It’s not for anything like that,” he said.

He added that the issue, as he understood it, concerned those deliberately using AI and automated systems to generate such material. “It’s for the people who hire these things, hire AI for this bot-generated nonsense,” Nani said.

What the Bengaluru court order says

The comments come days after a Bengaluru court granted an interim injunction to The Paradise producers, Sri Lakshmi Venkateshwara Cinemas LLP, against allegedly false and defamatory content concerning the film.

The Additional City Civil and Sessions Judge, Bengaluru, passed the order on September 19 after the producers claimed that several allegedly false and derogatory posts, comments and URLs had surfaced online following the film’s teaser release in August. The producers argued that the material went beyond fair criticism and could affect the film’s commercial prospects ahead of its September 24 release.

Importantly, the court's order is confined to the specific allegedly defamatory URLs identified in the case. It also states that the injunction does not extend to public reviews or genuine criticism. The interim order is temporary, with the next hearing scheduled for October 28.

The Paradise, directed by Srikanth Odela and starring Nani, releases in theatres on September 24, with special premieres in select cities on the night of September 23.

- Ends