By Shweta Jena
Aryan Khan’s Netflix series ‘The Ba***ds of Bollywood’, which premiered on Netflix last week, got a defamation case registered against it by former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) chief Sameer Wankhede. He claims the show defames him by portraying a character based on him. Furthermore, defamation was not the only charge; the former NCB chief claimed that the show had ‘insulted national honour’.
Episode 1 of the show, which is a satire on Bollywood, shows a narcotics cop arresting an actor from an outside party who is standing close to a person smoking marijuana. Show viewers noted how the narcotics cop has a close physical resemblance to Wankhede, who arrested Aryan Khan under the same circumstances in 2021.
According to his complaint, “This series presents a misleading and derogatory image of anti-drug enforcement organisations, thereby eroding public trust in law enforcement bodies.” He claims that a false, malicious, and defamatory video has wronged him and has sought redress against the production company, Netflix, and others in the form of a permanent and mandatory restriction, declaration, and damages. Red Chillies Entertainment Pvt. Ltd., the production company owned by Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan and his wife, Gauri Khan, is the target of the lawsuit. The series, which is Aryan’s first film, was produced by Red Chillies.
According to the lawsuit, the act qualifies as a serious and delicate violation of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, which carries legal penalties. Sameer Wankhede is suing for ₹2 crore in damages, which will be given to the Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital to help treat cancer patients.
The maintainability of IRS official Sameer Wankhede’s defamation lawsuit was questioned by the Delhi High Court on Friday. Wankhede’s attorney was asked verbally by Justice Purushaindra Kaurav if there was a cause of action related to Delhi. He was then advised to modify the suit to include a cause of action that would allow the matter to be pursued in Delhi’s jurisdiction.
Red Chillies and Netflix have not yet responded to the lawsuit. It is anticipated that the Delhi High Court will hear the case shortly.