On the bizarre side of the internet, actor Salman Khan has filed a civil court case against Parody Studios Pvt Ltd and its directors, for using his likeness and image in their mobile game titled Selmon Bhoi. The name is alleged to be a clever play on ‘Salman Bhai’, a name used by the actor’s fans to fondly refer to him. 

The memetically titled game Selmon Bhoi is alleged to have been based on an incident from the Radhe actor’s checkered past. In December 2015, Salman Khan had been acquitted of all charges regarding the infamous 2002 hit-and-run case. However, it seems like that incident hasn’t been forgotten by the public. Or at least by Parody Studios Pvt Ltd. 

Responding in favour of the actor, the court has ordered for temporary restraint on access to the game. According to a PTI report, judge KM Jaiswal ordered Parody Studios Pvt Ltd and its directors to stop dissemination, launching, re-launching and recreating the game or any other content relating to Salman Khan. 

The court observed, “Upon watching the game and its images, it prima facie matches with the identity of the plaintiff (Khan) and to the hit-and-run case connected to the plaintiff."

DSK Legal filed the complaint on Salman Khan’s behalf, arguing that the phonetic resemblance between ‘Selmon Bhoi’ and ‘Salman Bhai’ cannot be ignored. They further argued that the in-game images bore a characteristic resemblance to the actor, even if it was intended to be a caricaturised version of the Bollywood star. In fact DSK Legal submitted a sub-judice before the court, stating that the Selmon Bhoi game went as far as recreating alleged events from the actor’s infamous ‘Hit-and-run’ case, as well as the ‘blackbuck case’.

Salman Khan’s legal team maintains the position that the defendant's actions remain firmly outside the purview of Article 19 of the Constitution of India. Parody Studios Pvt Ltd and its directors intentionally exploited the actor’s personality rights to gain commercial benefits, without his consent which has tainted his goodwill and reputation by publicizing inaccurate and misleading information. 

The makers have also been instructed by the court to take down Selmon Bhoi off the Google play store as well as other platforms it is available on, effective immediately.

Is this just another case of art imitating real-life or have the makers of the game Selmon Bhoi taken a step too far? Do let us know in the comments. 

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