Abhinav Kashyap and Salman Khan. (Photos: JioHotstar / Instagram, #Abhinav Kashyap / X)
Bollywood actor Salman Khan filed a defamation lawsuit against filmmaker Abhinav Kashyap and two others after Kashyap made derogatory comments against Salman and his family in a recent interview. On Friday, a Mumbai court temporarily barred Kashyap from making or publishing “derogatory” comments against Salman and his family, as per PTI. The actor has also sought a permanent injunction and Rs 9 crore in damages. Khan has further sought an unconditional apology.
The legal action was initiated by Khan in the wake of a series of 26 video interviews and podcasts released between September and December 2025. The suit claimed that Kashyap made “scandalous, false, and grossly defamatory” statements against Khan and his family in these videos. Besides Kashyap, Khushboo Hazare and major social media platforms have been named in the suit.
‘Can’t use abusive and threatening language’
As per the suit, Kashyap used derogatory language targeting Khan’s professional integrity and personal character, as well as his family members. The suit alleged that Kashyap referred to the Khan family as “convicted criminals” and members of a “jihadi ecosystem” in the interview. It also cited instances where Kashyap used offensive language to describe Khan’s appearance, age, and personal life, and allegedly compared him to notorious criminals. Specific derogatory remarks were reportedly made against the actor’s father Salim Khan, and siblings Arbaaz Khan and Sohail Khan, the plea claimed.
The lawsuit has sought to permanently restrain the defendants from publishing any further defamatory content or interviews and also to remove all contentious content and tender an unconditional apology.
The court, after perusal of Kashyap’s statements in the interview given on the podcast, found that they are “prima facie defamatory, derogatory, abusive and insulting in nature”. These statements lower the image of the plaintiff in the eyes of the general public, the court said. The court further asserted that the reputation of the plaintiff (Salman) has been harmed by the defendants. It underscored that “nobody can and nobody should make any defamatory statements against anybody’s family”.
On the contention of freedom of speech and expression, the court clarified that “the right to freedom of speech and expression doesn’t mean that one can use abusive and threatening language against any individual”.
What did Abhinav Kashyap say?
Speaking on Bollywood Thikana, he said, “He is not saying anything while I am criticising him, but his sycophants seem to have a problem with it. This man has destroyed his life to an extent that it is beyond saving now.” He then added, “A criminal like him will play a soldier?” referring to Salman’s upcoming film Battle Of Galwan.
Abhinav has accused Salman of not paying his dues for writing Dabangg. In the interview, he also accused the actor of kidnapping the film’s editor. “Salman kidnapped my editor and the editing machine and took him to his farmhouse. He then allowed him to return only after the editor explained to him about voltage fluctuation at the farmhouse. Salman also once warned my editor, saying that if the director teases with the film, I will push cylinder in his back,” he said.
Accusing Salman and his family of harassment, Abhinav had said, “These people harassed me to the point where I wanted to quit, because they wanted a reason to tell the media that I wasn’t up to the mark, and wanted to install Arbaaz Khan as the director. But that didn’t happen. The credit goes to my friend Sunil Vohra, who introduced me to Arbaaz.”
Curated by James Chen
