‘Homebound’ compensation row
Neeraj Ghaywan
Filmmaker Neeraj Ghaywan has dismissed reports that the family whose story inspired his Oscar-shortlisted film Homebound was paid only R10,000. The director clarified on X that the sum was a token he had personally given Amrit’s father years ago during research, not the full compensation. “Please do not mistake this for the full extent. Neither I, nor the producers would ever reduce such a deeply personal story to such a pittance,” he wrote. Amrit, a young man whose life and friendship with Saiyub inspired the film, had expressed happiness with his portrayal in Neeraj’s film. Inspired by Basharat Peer’s article Taking Amrit Home, Homebound premiered at Cannes and later screened at TIFF.
Relief from AI cloning
Asha Bhosle
The Bombay High Court has ruled in favour of legendary playback singer Asha Bhosle, protecting her from the unauthorised use of her identity by AI platforms, e-commerce sites, and other parties. The order bars the use of the singer’s voice, image, or likeness without her explicit consent. The court observed that employing AI tools to imitate a celebrity’s voice without approval amounts to a breach of identity rights.
