The makers of ‘Kala Hiran: The Battle for Legal, purportedly based on actor Salman Khan, on Thursday told the Delhi High Court that the movie is not ready for release as it is yet to get the censor board’s certification.The statement was made before Justice Jyoti Singh who was hearing an application by the Bollywood star seeking restraint on the release of the film. The court asked the film producer to file his response within two weeks on Salman’s plea.“The counsel appears for defendant no. 1 and on instructions states that the impugned movie at this stage is not in a releasable state as its content is yet to be certified by the censor board. Statement is taken on record. Reply be filed in two weeks, rejoinder before the next date,” the court said and listed the matter for further hearing on September 30.The court also asked the counsel for producer Amit Jani to inform it on September 14 the proposed date of release and said “till then you will not release it.”Salman Khan’s counsel said the makers were themselves saying that the movie is going to be released in September and “suppose it is released it will cause immense harm to me (Salman).”The producer’s counsel said the movie is not in a releasable form and it is yet to be sent to the censor board for certification and even the trailer has not been released.Salman Khan’s application forms part of his lawsuit on protection of his personality rights.Earlier in July, the high court had passed an interim order directing the removal of a teaser for the film and other related posts from online platforms after Salman’s objection to them. The court had 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. It had 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.The court had restrained the makers from uploading, hosting, sharing, publicising or disseminating the teaser and other accompanying posts on any platform, including social media platforms, OTT platforms, television and print media, while directing them to take down the existing posts within 24 hours.X, Meta Platforms, Inc. and Google LLC should take down the URLs in case the uploaders do not take them down within the stipulated timeline, the court had further directed.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.Salman, 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 earlier application, the actor has said the film’s poster, released on May 29, showed that there is a “blatant and obvious reference” to him. A teaser of the film was subsequently released.The plea has stated that although Salman 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.The application has also accused the filmmakers of deliberately attempting to “sensationalise” the poaching cases and making headlines to grab public attention at the cost of Salman Khan’s goodwill and reputation. Salman 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. The high court passed an interim order in his favour on December 11, 2025.
