Sameer Wankhede sues Aryan Khan, SRK over his 'role' in Ba**ds of Bollywood
Ex-NCB officer files $2 crore defamation suit against Netflix series creators, claiming the character resembling him is 'false, malicious, and defamatory'
Aryan Khan’s Netflix series Ba**ds of Bollywood has sparked controversy after viewers noticed a character resembling former Narcotics Control Bureau officer Sameer Wankhede, who had arrested Aryan in 2021.
Wankhede has filed a defamation suit against Aryan Khan and Shah Rukh Khan, describing the series as “false, malicious, and defamatory,” and alleging it was deliberately created to damage his reputation and discredit law enforcement.
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Sameer Wankhede sues Aryan Khan, SRK
He has sought Rs 2 crore in damages from Aryan, Red Chillies Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. (owned by Shah Rukh and Gauri Khan), and Netflix, stating that the compensation would be donated to Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital for patient care.
A statement from Wankhede read, “Sameer Wankhede, IRS Officer, has filed a defamation suit before the Delhi High Court seeking permanent and mandatory injunction, declaration, and damages against Red Chillies Entertainment Pvt Ltd, owned by actor Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan, OTT platform Netflix, and others. The plaintiff has been aggrieved by a false, malicious, and defamatory video produced by Red Chillies and broadcast by Netflix as part of the television series titled The Ba**ds of Bollywood.”
The statement further said the series “projects a misleading and negative image of anti-drug enforcement agencies, thereby eroding public trust in law enforcement institutions.”
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Wankhede alleges malicious intent
In its opening episode, the show features a character, visibly inspired by Wankhede, who appears outside a Bollywood party searching for stars “doing drugs”. Since the series began streaming on September 18, social media has been abuzz with comparisons to Wankhede.
Wankhede claims the series was “deliberately conceptualised and executed with the intent to malign Sameer Wankhede’s reputation in a colourable and prejudicial manner,” noting that the matter involving him and Aryan remains sub judice before the Bombay High Court and the NDPS Special Court in Mumbai.
He also pointed to a scene where the character makes an obscene gesture, raising a middle finger after chanting “Satyamev Jayate,” part of India’s National Emblem. Wankhede’s statement argues that this violates the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, which carries penal consequences.
He added that the content breaches provisions of the Information Technology Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), as it seeks to “outrage national sentiment through obscene and offensive material.”
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2021 drug case
On October 3, 2021, Aryan Khan, along with Ayaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha, was arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on charges of possession, consumption, and purchase/sale of banned drugs following a cruise ship raid.
Their arrest came a day after the NCB raided a cruise ship and claimed to have seized banned drugs. Twenty people were arrested in total.
Wankhede, then an NCB officer, led the investigation and came into the spotlight after Aryan’s arrest. Aryan spent 25 days in jail before securing bail.
By May 2022, all charges against him were dropped, and Wankhede was removed from the case amid allegations of blackmail.