Salman Khan moves court against 'Kala Hiran', notice issued to director & producer

The Delhi High Court on Friday sought responses from the makers of the film Kala Hiran: The Battle for Legacy on a plea filed by actor Salman Khan seeking a stay on its release. A vacation bench of Justice Neena Bansal Krishna issued notices to producer Amit Jani, director Bharat Shrinate, casting director Akshay Pandey and other respondents, and scheduled the matter for hearing on June 19. The actor has alleged that the film violates a previous court order protecting his personality rights.

During the hearing, the court was informed that although the film's release date has not yet been announced, its trailer was released on Friday. Salman Khan filed the application in an already pending suit relating to the protection of his personality rights. In the fresh application, he named the producer, production company, director, casting director and certain unidentified persons as defendants.

According to the application, the film's poster contains what Khan described as a clear reference to him. He alleged that the lead character bears a strong resemblance to him in appearance and attire and is shown wearing a bracelet that is closely associated with the actor. The application stated that the character depicted has an unmistakable resemblance to him and that the portrayal infringes upon his protected personality rights.

Khan further alleged that the film portrays him as having links to the underworld and that the poster is defamatory. He also argued that the film affects his right to a fair trial in the blackbuck hunting case, proceedings related to which remain pending before the Rajasthan High Court and the Supreme Court. The application cited media reports and statements allegedly made by the filmmakers, claiming they indicated that the film was based on the blackbuck hunting incident.

The actor also informed the court that he had previously sent a legal notice to the filmmakers. According to the application, the producer allegedly tore up the notice publicly during an interview and later posted on social media that he was being threatened by Khan and the underworld. Counsel appearing for Khan argued that defamatory statements about him were being made publicly and sought an injunction against the film following the release of its trailer.