Aryan Khan's The Ba***ds of Bollywood 'insult to national honour': Sameer Wankhede case is more than personal defamation

Ex NCB officer Sameer Wankhede has sued Aryan Khan and Shah Rukh Khan for allegedly defaming and parodying him in Aryan's web series, The Ba***ds of Bollywood.

Former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) chief Sameer Wankhede has dragged Aryan Khan and Shah Rukh Khan to court in a defamation case. Wankhede claims that Aryan's debut web series, the Ba***ds of Bollywood, which released on Netflix last week, defames him by modelling a character on him. However, defamation is not the only charge the former NCB official is levelling against the show and its makers. He also contends that the show has 'insulted national honour'.

Sameer Wankhede has said that a character (left) in Aryan Khan's The Ba***ds of Bollywood defames him.

Sameer Wankhede sues Aryan Khan and SRK

The Ba***ds of Bollywood is a satire on Bollywood. In episode 1, an unnamed narcotics cop is shown arresting an actor from outside a party for merely standing next to someone smoking marijuana. Viewers noted that the actor bore physical resemblance to Wankhede, who infamously arrested the show's creator Aryan Khan on drug charges in 2021. Aryan was eventually cleared of all charges, and Wankhede is under investigation.

In his suit, Wankhede alleges, "This series disseminates a misleading and negative portrayal of anti-drug enforcement agencies, thereby eroding public confidence in law enforcement institutions." He has sought relief in the nature of a permanent and mandatory injunction, declaration, and damages against the production house, Netflix and others, adding that he has been aggrieved by a false, malicious, and defamatory video. The suit has been filed against Red Chillies Entertainment Pvt Ltd., the production house owned by Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan and his wife, Gauri Khan. Red Chillies has produced the show, which marks Aryan's maiden foray into filmmaking.

‘The show insults national honour’

However, defamation is only part of the case against the show. Wankhede has also pointed to a later instance in the same scene where the cop sits in his van and says 'Satyamev Jayate', to which another character first gives him a thumbs up, before changing it to a middle finger salute (a gesture showing disrespect or condemnation). The suit asserted that the act constitutes a grave and sensitive violation of the provisions of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, which attracts penal consequences under the law.

In his lawsuit, Sameer Wankhede has sought damages of ₹2 crore to be donated to the Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital for the treatment of cancer patients.

Neither Netflix nor Red Chillies have reacted to the suit so far. The Delhi High Court is expected to hear the matter soon.

(With ANI inputs)