Margie Ann Opela

Red Chillies Entertainment has filed its official reply to Sameer Wankhede’s defamation suit against The Ba***ds of Bollywood, the Netflix show he claims was designed to tarnish his reputation. Wankhede, the former NCB officer who led the 2021 drugs case involving Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan, had approached the court alleging that the makers had portrayed a character resembling him in both appearance and mannerisms. In its response, Red Chillies Entertainment maintained that the series is a Bollywood satire, and all characters in it are depicted with deliberately exaggerated traits to heighten the humour. The production house argued that the complaint was an attempt to curtail artistic and creative freedom and described Wankhede’s stance as an instance of “hypersensitivity.”The reply further pointed out that Wankhede’s image had already been subject to widespread public scrutiny long before the show’s release. According to the filing, the former officer’s involvement in the Aryan Khan case had drawn considerable criticism and ridicule, as reflected in news coverage, social media discussions, and public commentary at the time. Red Chillies stated that these materials clearly demonstrated that his reputation had been affected earlier, and that the lawsuit was an attempt to silence satirical portrayals that fall under creative expression. Represented by senior advocates Neeraj Kishan Kaul and Shyel Trehan, the production company also requested the court to allow the show to remain intact, asserting that removing the contested scene would disrupt the series’ narrative flow. The makers clarified that the show does not directly name or reference Wankhede, and that the police officer character is merely depicted as an “overzealous” cop a common trope in dark comedies and satires. The case, which came up before Justice Purushindra Kumar on Thursday, has now been adjourned to November 10 for further proceedings. The Ba***ds of Bollywood, streaming on Netflix, has drawn attention for its unapologetically sharp commentary on celebrity culture, media frenzy, and the moral ambiguity within the film industry themes that continue to spark debate about where the line between satire and defamation should be drawn. Also Read: Sameer Wankhede denies having any grudges against Shah Rukh Khan and family: “I’m just a Government Servant, not living in a Banana Republic”.