Court says teaser's blackbuck poaching references gravely damage actor's reputation

After actor Salman Khan objected to a preview for the movie "Kala Hiran: The Battle for Legal" and other related materials from online sites, the Delhi High Court issued an interim injunction directing their removal.

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.
The judge noted that the film's teaser refers to incidents and characters which are part of a pending appeal in the blackbuck poaching case and also imputes acts of intimidation of witnesses and investigation machinery, which prima facie irreparably and gravely damage the actor's goodwill and reputation built over years.

"In my view, prima facie, the cumulative narrative from the impugned teaser and the posts is that proposed defendants have launched a promotional campaign/strategy to commercially exploit plaintiff's personality rights and public persona, without his consent or authorisation, to generate commercial interest in the film and attract viewers and are thus infringing Plaintiff's personality and publicity rights," the court observed.

"Plaintiff has the right to determine the manner in which his persona is commercially exploited and proposed defendants cannot exploit Plaintiff's name, mannerisms and other distinctive attributes for commercial gains, without authority and/or publish and disseminate content which injures the reputation of the Plaintiff in public.

Justice Singh ordered the creators to remove the current posts within 24 hours and prohibited them from uploading, hosting, sharing, publicizing, or distributing the teaser and other related posts on any platform, including social media, OTT platforms, television, and print media.

X, Meta Platforms, Inc. and Google LLC shall take down the URLs in case the uploaders do not take them down within the stipulated timeline, the court further directed. "Right to personality has been recognised by Courts as an intrinsic facet of Article 21 of the Constitution of India, encompassing right to privacy, dignity and reputation.

"Plaintiff has the right to determine the manner in which his persona is commercially exploited and proposed defendants cannot exploit plaintiff's name, mannerisms and other distinctive attributes for commercial gains, without authority and/or publish and disseminate content which injures the reputation of the plaintiff in public," it said. Khan's counsel argued that the teaser depicts a dramatised trial of a superstar for the alleged killing of a blackbuck, in which the character's name was deliberately chosen close to the actor's name and is described as "this Dabangg".

He contended that the film's promotional campaign repeatedly invoked Khan's name and even linked him to the underworld and international terrorist organisations, while suggesting an international conspiracy to stop the film. Earlier, the makers told the court that the movie was yet to be sent to the censor board for certification for its release.

In the response filed to the application, filmmaker Amit Jani has said Khan cannot claim any "ownership" over criminal cases, judicial proceedings, media reports or historical events merely because such events involved or concerned him.

The response has asserted that there was no exploitation of his personality rights as there was neither any false endorsement nor commercial impersonation or unlawful commercial exploitation. The makers have also clarified that the movie was not Salman Khan's biopic and he cannot invoke personality rights "to erase" the public events concerning the blackbuck controversy.

Khan, in his rejoinder to the response, said he has not claimed a monopoly over any event or public discourse, and his grievance was the unauthorised commercial exploitation of his identity and other uniquely identifiable characteristics, such as his instantly recognisable bracelet, ear studs, etc., to attract viewers.

In the application, the actor has said the film's poster, released on May 29, shows that there is a "blatant and obvious reference" to him. A teaser of the film was subsequently released. The plea has stated that although Khan was acquitted of offences under the Arms Act by a court in Rajasthan, the main character in the poster is holding a gun, which is defamatory.

"The character depicted has an uncanny resemblance to the plaintiff and is clearly seen wearing a bracelet, which is immediately and promptly identifiable with the plaintiff and no one else," stated the application. "The poster and the proposed film are therefore clearly spreading a false narrative, misleading and appear to be completely contrary to the actual state of affairs and contrary to records," it added.

Khan had earlier approached the High Court for restraining various social media platforms and e-commerce websites from unauthorisedly using his name, images, persona and likeness and to protect his personality rights.