Shah Rukh Khan's production house counters Sameer Wankhede's claim in defamation case: 'Ba***ds of Bollywood is not a documentary on the Cordelia cruise incident'

After the release of Aryan Khan's web-series 'Ba***ds Of Bollywood', IRS officer Sameer Wankhede filed a defamation case against Shah Rukh Khan's production house. One of the characters on the show was seemingly based on Wankhede and he filed Rs 2 crore defamation suit in Delhi High Court against Red Chillies Entertainment and Netflix, claiming that the show's portrayal of this Government officer has damaged his reputation, as it seemingly was in relation to the 2021 Cordelia Empress cruise drug case which involved Aryan Khan.

Now Red Chillies has countered Wankhede on the case on his request for an interim injunction of the streaming of the series. Representing the production house, senior advocate Neeraj Kishan Kaul argued that although the show takes creative cues from the behaviour of overzealous officers, it never directly portrays or alludes to the Cordelia cruise case.




Kaul questioned the basis of Wankhede’s objections, stating, “Can satire and fiction co-exist? There is no law that it cannot co-exist. I may be partly inspired by real persons and stories yet there can be disclaimers, no problem with two existing together. Where is the ill-will or malice? This is about a success story in a Bollywood party.”

He further contended that the claims of malice were unfounded. “We are not looking at people who are sensitive, hurt is not ground for malice. Can you pick a stray instance, a passage here or there? The series is about 20 different issues. We do not show a documentary on the Cordelia cruise incident. I am inspired by overzealous officers. That is far from saying that this is the Cordelia cruise story.”

Kaul also pointed out Wankhede’s own public engagements, remarking, “You cannot say that the person depicting ills in Bollywood cannot show overzealous officers. I cannot be responsible for what other people say… I am fully entitled to depict issues ailing Bollywood. Even if I am to project someone, a public official cannot be that thin-skinned.”

Further in order to wrap up, he added, “Even if I portray you unjustly it is still not the case. Every scene in this show is exaggerated. I am not ridiculing him or the emblem. I am talking about officials who have lofty ideas.”



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