Ex-narcotics officer Sameer Wankhede has gone to Delhi High Court against the Netflix series, The Ba***ds of Bollywood and Shah Rukh Khan over his portrayal in the Aryan Khan-directed web series.
The Defamation Suit
Wankhede has sought Rs 2 crore in damages from Shah Rukh Khan and Red Chillies Entertainment, his company and the producer of The Ba***ds of Bollywood, which he claims to donate to the Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital for treatment of cancer patients.
Sameer Wankhede’s Statement
A statement from Wankhede read, “Sameer Wankhede, IRS Officer, has filed a defamation suit before the Delhi High Court seeking reliefs in the nature of permanent and mandatory injunction, declaration, and damages against Red Chillies Entertainment Pvt Ltd, owned by actor Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan, the OTT platform, Netflix and others, having been aggrieved by a false, malicious, and defamatory video produced by Red Chillies and broadcast by Netflix as part of their television series titled The Ba***ds of Bollywood.
aryan khan literally played here by casting sameer wankhede lookalike in the bads of bollywood isn’t it..😭 pic.twitter.com/gVsr811Tus
— Roj Roj Ke Kalesh (@RojRojKeKalesh) September 18, 2025
“This series disseminates a misleading and negative portrayal of anti-drug enforcement agencies, thereby eroding public confidence in law enforcement institutions,” read the statement.
What The Series Showed
In the first episode of The Ba***ds of Bollywood, a character, heavily inspired by Sameer Wankhede, lands up outside a Bollywood party, looking for people from “Bollywood”, “who are doing drugs”.
The Sameer Wankhede cameo in the Bads*** of Bollywood Is too good lol.
Iykyk#Badsofbollywood #AryanKhan #ShahRukhKhan𓀠 pic.twitter.com/05PTrvTEsy— PSG24 (@DOCPSG24) September 18, 2025
Since the series began streaming on Netflix on September 18, social media has gone into an overdrive drawing parallels between Sameer Wankhede and the sequence in the series.
“Deliberately Executed To Malign Wankhede’s Reputation”
In his statement, Wankhede has claimed that The Ba***ds of Bollywood has been “deliberately conceptualised and executed with the intent to malign Sameer Wankhede’s reputation in a colourable and prejudicial manner.”
“Especially when the case involving Sameer Wankhede and Aryan khan is pending and sub-judice before the Hon’ble Bombay High Court and the NDPS Special Court, Mumbai,” Wankhede’s statement to the media read.
“Furthermore, the series, inter alia, depicts a character making an obscene gesture–specifically, showing a middle finger after the character recites the slogan “Satyamev Jayate” which is the part of the National Emblem. This 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 law,” continued Wankhede’s statement.
“In addition, the content of the series is in contravention of various provisions of the Information Technology Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), as it seeks to outrage national sentiment through the use of obscene and offensive material,” it read.
Why The Dig Against Sameer Wankhede
On October 3, 2021, Aryan Khan, Ayaaz Merchant, and Munmun Dhamecha were arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau, and charged with possession, consumption, and sale/purchase of banned drugs. Their arrest came a day after the NCB raided a cruise ship and claimed to have seized banned drugs. Twenty people had been arrested in the case.
Ex-Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officer Sameer Wankhede led the investigation and came into the spotlight after arresting Aryan. Aryan Khan spent 25 days in jail before he was granted bail.
In May 2022, all charges against Khan were dropped, with Wankhede removed from the case after being accused of blackmail.
