Former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede has escalated his legal battle against Bollywood, filing a ₹2 crore defamation suit in the Delhi High Court. The suit targets Aryan Khan, Shah Rukh Khan‘s production house Red Chillies Entertainment, and the global streaming giant Netflix, claiming the recently released series, The Ba***ds of Bollywood, contains “false, malicious, and defamatory” content designed to malign his reputation.
Sameer Wankhede, who led the investigation that briefly incarcerated Aryan Khan in 2021, contends that a character in the series is an unmistakable, negative portrayal of him. The defamation suit explicitly argues that the show not only mocks the former officer but also “disseminates a misleading and negative portrayal of anti-drug enforcement agencies,” thereby eroding public confidence in law enforcement institutions. The explosive legal action demands a permanent injunction against the series’ streaming and a declaration that its content is defamatory.
The core of Wankhede’s lawsuit centres on a specific, controversial sequence in the Netflix series, which marks Aryan Khan’s directorial debut. The scene features a character, wearing attire and exhibiting mannerisms strikingly similar to the former NCB officer, loudly entering a Bollywood party to declare a “war against drugs.”
The suit highlights a particularly egregious act: the character makes an obscene gesture—specifically, showing a middle finger—immediately after reciting the national slogan “Satyamev Jayate,” which is part of the National Emblem. Wankhede’s plea asserts that this act constitutes a grave and sensitive violation of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, a charge that carries significant penal consequences. Furthermore, the suit alleges the series intentionally includes “obscene, offensive material” in contravention of the Information Technology Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Statement from Sameer Wankhede claims that Red Chillies and Netflix deliberately conceptualized and executed the series with the intent to malign his reputation in a “colourable and prejudicial manner.” The former officer notes that the original case involving him and Aryan Khan remains sub-judice before the Bombay High Court and the NDPS Special Court in Mumbai. He argues that releasing a fictionalized, prejudicial account of the events while the judicial process is still ongoing amounts to an unfair and malicious campaign against him.
The officer is seeking ₹2 crore in damages, which he has publicly pledged to donate entirely to the Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital to support cancer patients. This move strategically emphasizes his intent to clear his professional standing rather than gain personal financial benefit. The battle now pits the creative freedom of a major production house and a global streamer against the rights of a public servant, setting up a high-profile legal showdown that will inevitably spark a debate about censorship, satire, and personal liberty.
The defamation suit against a major production house and the streaming giant Netflix sends a stark warning across the entire Over-The-Top (OTT) ecosystem. This case is likely to become a litmus test for the guidelines surrounding the fictionalized portrayal of real-life public figures and ongoing legal cases. The outcome of the Delhi High Court’s deliberation will impact how far filmmakers can push the boundaries of creative license when referencing politically charged or legally sensitive events.
For Red Chillies Entertainment and Aryan Khan, who has poured his directorial vision into the series, the injunction request poses a direct threat to the distribution of their work. For Netflix, which operates globally, the claim of violating an Indian act on national honour could set a challenging precedent for content regulation. As the legal battle moves forward, the industry keenly watches how the court balances the constitutional right to freedom of expression with an individual’s right to a clean reputation and the sanctity of law enforcement agencies.
