A legal battle is underway between IRS officer Sameer Wankhede and Shah Rukh Khan’s production house Red Chillies Entertainment over the Netflix web series The Ba***ds of Bollywood, directed by Aryan Khan. Wankhede has filed a Rs 2 crores defamation suit on the Delhi High Court, claiming that the show’s portrayal of a government officer is a veiled depiction of him and has damaged his popularity, particularly in relation to the 2021 Cordelia Empress cruise drug case involving Aryan Khan.
‘Ba***ds of Bollywood will not be a documentary on the Cordelia cruise incident’: Shah Rukh Khan-owned Red Chillies counters Sameer Wankhede’s defamation claim
In response, Red Chillies Entertainment opposed Wankhede’s plea for an interim injunction to stop streaming the series. Senior advocate Neeraj Kishan Kaul, representing Red Chillies, argued that while the show draws inspiration from overzealous officers, it doesn’t specifically depict or reference the Cordelia cruise incident.
Kaul stressed, “Can satire and fiction co-exist? There is no such thing as a law that it cannot co-exist. I could also be partly inspired by real individuals and stories yet there might be disclaimers, no problem with two existing together. Where is the ill-will or malice? That is about a hit story in a Bollywood party.”
He further argued, “We aren’t people who find themselves sensitive, hurt will not be ground for malice. Can you decide a stray instance, a passage here or there? The series is about 20 different issues. We don’t show a documentary on the Cordelia cruise incident. I’m inspired by overzealous officers. That is way from saying that that is the Cordelia cruise story.”
Kaul further claimed that Wankhede is keen on giving interviews to the media and said, “You can not say that the person depicting ills in Bollywood cannot show overzealous officers. I can’t be answerable for what other people say… I’m fully entitled to depict issues ailing Bollywood. Even when I’m to project someone, a public official can’t be that thin-skinned,” on behalf of Red Chillies.
Concluding his argument, Kaul said, “Even when I portray you unjustly it remains to be not the case. Every scene on this show is exaggerated. I’m not ridiculing him or the logo. I’m talking about officials who’ve lofty ideas.”
The following hearing is scheduled on November 27, 2025, where the court will hear arguments on behalf of Netflix.
Also Read: Delhi HC flags bias in Aryan Khan’s The Ba***ds Of Bollywood as Sameer Wankhede accuses Netflix show of targeting him
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