Madras High Court Dismisses Tamannaah Bhatia’s ₹1 Crore Damages Plea Against Power Soaps

The Madras High Court has dismissed a legal appeal filed by Indian film actress Tamannaah Bhatia seeking ₹1 crore in damages from Puducherry-based Power Soaps Limited. The court upheld a previous single-judge decision that rejected her 2011 civil suit, ruling that she failed to provide sufficient evidence to support her claims. Bhatia had alleged that the company unlawfully exploited her popularity by continuing to use her photographs and videos on soap wrappers and promotional materials after their brand ambassador agreement expired in October 2009. She claimed this unauthorized usage occurred while she was negotiating with competitor Wipro in 2010. Power Soaps denied the allegations, arguing that Bhatia was not significantly popular at the time of the 2008 agreement and asserting that they ceased using her images upon contract expiry. The Division Bench of Justices P. Velmurugan and K. Govindarajan Thilakavadi found no grounds to interfere with the earlier dismissal, noting that the plaintiff relied on unreliable materials. Consequently, the court rejected the appeal with costs, marking the end of a long-standing legal dispute regarding intellectual property rights and celebrity endorsement contracts.