Kala Hiran teaser row: Producer Amit Jani moves Supreme Court against Delhi HC order

Film producer Amit Jani has challenged the Delhi High Court's order in the Supreme Court, seeking relief over the takedown of the teaser and promotional material for his film Kala Hiran – The Battle For Legacy, ANI reported. The plea comes weeks after the High Court directed the makers to remove the content from public platforms.

The legal dispute centres on Salman Khan's personality rights, with the Delhi High Court finding that Amit Jani's film's promotional material appeared to misuse the actor's identity and could damage his public image. The Supreme Court will now examine Jani's challenge to the interim order.

The Delhi High Court has in an interim order directed the removal of a teaser for the film "Kala Hiran: The Battle for Legal", purportedly based on actor Salman Khan, and other related posts from online platforms, after he objected to them.

Justice Jyoti Singh, in the order passed on July 27 on Khan's application, said the makers of 'Kala Hiran' cannot exploit the 59-year-old Bollywood star's name, mannerisms and other distinctive attributes for commercial gains without his authorisation or disseminate content that injures his reputation.

The court observed that using social media to disseminate content that violates personality rights or harms reputation exacerbates the mischief, given the speed, reach and permanence of digital publications.

Justice Singh restrained the makers from uploading, hosting, sharing or publicising the teaser and related promotional material across social media, OTT platforms, television and print media. The court also directed existing posts to be removed within 24 hours. X, Meta and Google were told to take down the URLs if the makers failed to comply.

The court said the teaser referred to incidents and characters linked to the pending blackbuck poaching case and appeared to portray the actor as being involved in witness intimidation and interference with the investigation. It held that the content could cause serious and irreparable harm to Khan’s reputation.

Khan’s lawyers argued that the teaser depicts a dramatised trial of a superstar over the alleged killing of a blackbuck, with the character’s name resembling Khan’s and references such as “this Dabangg”. They also alleged that the promotional campaign linked the actor to the underworld and international terrorist organisations and suggested a conspiracy against the film.

Salman Khan’s application forms part of his broader lawsuit seeking protection of his personality rights. He argued that the filmmakers had commercially exploited his identity and recognisable attributes, including his bracelet and ear studs, without permission.

Salman Khan also sought a stay on the film’s release. The filmmakers, however, told the court that the movie had not yet been submitted to the censor board.

In their response, the makers denied infringing Khan’s personality rights, arguing that he could not claim ownership over criminal cases, court proceedings, media reports or historical events merely because they involved him. They also clarified that Kala Hiran – The Battle For Legacy is not a Salman Khan biopic and said personality rights could not be used to erase public events surrounding the blackbuck controversy.

Salman Khan rejected the argument, saying he was not claiming a monopoly over the events or public discourse. His grievance, he said, was the unauthorised commercial use of his identity and distinctive characteristics to attract audiences.

The Dabangg actor had earlier approached the Delhi High Court seeking protection against unauthorised use of his name, image, likeness and persona across social media and e-commerce platforms. The court had passed an interim order in his favour on December 11, 2025.

(With inputs from PTI)