Bollywood actor Salman Khan has received interim relief from the Delhi High Court in his plea against the upcoming film Kala Hiran: The Battle for Legacy. The court directed the makers to remove the film’s teaser and several promotional materials after observing that they appeared to create a direct link between the actor and the 1998 blackbuck poaching case.
The order came while the court was hearing Salman Khan’s application seeking an interim injunction against the release and promotion of the film.
During the hearing, Justice Jyoti Singh stressed the importance of protecting an individual’s reputation. The court orally observed, “This must stop. Reputation once lost is lost.”
According to the actor’s legal team, every minute the teaser remained available in the public domain continued to affect the actor’s reputation. The court also indicated that interviews and online promotional content featuring the film’s producer, Amit Jani, may also be taken down.
In his plea, Salman Khan argued that although Kala Hiran teaser does not mention his name, but it allegedly features a character who closely resembles him. The petition stated that the character wears his signature blue bracelet and includes visual references linked to the 1998 blackbuck poaching case.
The teaser also reportedly shows the lookalike holding a firearm. Salman argued that this creates a misleading impression because he was acquitted in the Arms Act case connected to the incident.
According to the actor, these visual and contextual references make him easily identifiable and unfairly associate him with past legal proceedings.
The petition further claimed that the film commercially exploits Salman Khan’s identity without his consent. It also alleged that producer Amit Jani connected the film with both the blackbuck case and the Lawrence Bishnoi controversy through interviews, social media posts and public statements to generate publicity.
The actor argued that this amounts to a violation of his personality and publicity rights.
For now, the Delhi High Court has directed the removal of the teaser and related promotional material while the case continues. The court’s interim order provides temporary relief to Salman Khan as the legal proceedings move forward.
