Shah Rukh Khan, Aryan Khan and Sameer Wankhede
Red Chillies Entertainment, owned by superstar Shah Rukh Khan, has defended itself in a defamation complaint filed by IRS officer Sameer Wankhede about its online series The Ba'''ds of Bollywood, directed by Aryan Khan. The production house's counsel contended that, while the show is inspired by overzealous officers, it does not represent or relate to the Cordelia cruise case.
On Wednesday, Shah Rukh Khan's Red Chillies Entertainment filed a petition in the Delhi High Court opposing IRS officer Sameer Wankhede's request for an interim injunction on the series The Ba'''ds of Bollywood.
During the hearing, senior advocate Neeraj Kishan Kaul, who represented Red Chillies, informed Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav that satire and fiction can coexist.
Kaul mentioned on behalf of the client, "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 stated, "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."
In October 2021, Aryan made headlines when his name was linked to a high-profile drug case after the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) stormed a rave party on the Cordelia Empress cruise ship sailing for Goa off the coast of Mumbai. In October 2021, Aryan was arrested by an NCB team led by former zonal officer Sameer Wankhede. He was released after serving more than three weeks in jail following his detention. Aryan was later cleared of narcotics charges.
Kaul launched an attack on Wankhede, claiming that Wankhede enjoys giving media interviews and spoke freely about the concerns following the release of the Netflix series. Kaul further made a statement on behalf of REd Chillies, "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."
In his closing remarks, Kaul stated, "Even if I represent you unfairly, it is still not a case. Each scene in this show is exaggerated. I'm not mocking him or the insignia. I'm talking about officials with lofty ideas."
The Court will hear Netflix's arguments on Thursday.
