The Madras High Court on Thursday (16 April) dismissed actress Tamannaah Bhatia’s appeal seeking ₹1 crore damages from Power Soaps Limited over alleged unauthorised use of her images after a contract ended.
Background of the Case
Bhatia had signed an endorsement agreement with the company in October 2008, allowing use of her photographs on soap packaging for one year, until October 2009. She later claimed that her images continued to appear on product wrappers, advertisements, and online listings in 2010–2011 without her consent.
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Arguing that this affected her commercial opportunities, especially with competing brands, she sought damages and a permanent injunction against further use.
A Division Bench of Justices P Velmurugan and K Govindarajan Thilakavadi agreed with the earlier ruling of a single judge.
“The materials placed do not convincingly establish that the defendant continued to use the plaintiff’s images beyond the contractual period,” the bench noted during the hearing.
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The court found that the documents relied upon such as product wrappers and online listings did not clearly prove any link to the company or alleged misuse.
Upholding the 2017 single-judge order, the High Court concluded that the claim lacked credible evidence. The appeal was dismissed, and the earlier rejection of damages and injunction was affirmed.
Case Details:
Case Title: Tamanna Santhosh Bhatia v. M/s Power Soaps Limited & Anr.
Case Number: OSA No. 190 of 2018
Judges: Justice P Velmurugan, Justice K Govindarajan Thilakavadi
Decision Date: April 16, 2026
