A new defamation controversy in Bollywood has emerged as IRS officer Sameer Wankhede has filed a lawsuit in the Delhi High Court against Shah Rukh Khan’s production company, Red Chillies Entertainment, and Netflix. This case is connected to the web series The Ba*ds of Bollywood, which Aryan Khan directed. Wankhede, who led the Narcotics Control Bureau’s (NCB) 2021 raid on a cruise ship, asserts that the series unjustly harms his reputation. This raid resulted in the arrest of Shah Rukh Khan’s son, Aryan Khan, which ignited a significant legal battle at that time. Nevertheless, in 2022, the NCB exonerated Aryan Khan, confirming that no drugs were discovered in his possession.
In his legal filing, Wankhede contends that the series portrays him negatively and undermines public confidence in anti-drug organizations. He is seeking ₹2 crore in damages, which he intends to donate to Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital. Wankhede also highlighted a scene in the series where a character makes an obscene gesture—displaying the middle finger while uttering “Satyamev Jayate,” a phrase associated with India’s National Emblem. He argues that this action breaches the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971. Furthermore, Wankhede claims the series violates the Information Technology Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita due to its use of “offensive and obscene material,” inciting public outrage.
This recent controversy involving Sameer Wankhede has once again drawn attention to Aryan Khan and the 2021 drug case. What began as a cruise ship raid has evolved into a dispute regarding reputation, law enforcement, and freedom of expression in Bollywood.