'Bads of Bollywood': Sameer Wankhede slaps lawsuit on SRK, Netflix
What's the story
Former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officer Sameer Wankhede has filed a defamation suit against Shah Rukh Khan, Red Chillies Entertainment Pvt. Ltd., and Netflix. The lawsuit was filed in the Delhi High Court on Thursday, seeking a permanent injunction against Red Chillies Entertainment Pvt. Ltd., owned by the Khans, and the OTT giant. Wankhede claims that the Netflix series The Ba***ds of Bollywood contains "false, malicious, and defamatory content aimed at damaging his reputation."
Legal action
Wankhede seeks ₹2cr in damages
Wankhede is seeking ₹2cr in damages, which he plans to donate to the Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital for cancer patients. His statement read, "This series disseminates a misleading and negative portrayal of anti-drug enforcement agencies, thereby eroding public confidence in law enforcement institutions." The suit also raises concerns about a character in the series making an obscene gesture after reciting the slogan Satyamev Jayate.
Series portrayal
Series has been deliberately conceptualized to malign my reputation: Wankhede
Wankhede's statement further read, "The series has been deliberately conceptualized and executed with the intent to malign Sameer Wankhede's reputation in a colorable 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."
Series resemblance
Social media users have been drawing parallels between real, reel
Since the series started streaming on Netflix on September 18, social media users have been drawing parallels between a character in it and Wankhede. The officer character introduced in the first episode rants about a war against drugs, claiming to be part of "NCG." He is dressed in a white shirt and dark pants with short hair, resembling Wankhede's appearance. Skipping a person actually doing drugs, he arrests a Bollywood actor just for his association with the film fraternity.
Twitter Post
Check out Twitter posts
how did Aryan Khan even manage to get a Sameer Wankhede lookalike. This was so hilarious the way he created this parody. I was laughing so hard and rewatched this scene multiple times 😭😭 #TheBadsOfBollywood pic.twitter.com/fBOlZ5ExCd
— sohom (@AwaaraHoon) September 18, 2025
Case background
Know more about the case and web series
In October 2021, Aryan, SRK's eldest son, was implicated in a high-profile drugs case after the NCB raided a rave party on the Cordelia Empress cruise ship. He was arrested by Wankhede and spent over three weeks in jail before being released. Later, he was given a clean chit in the case. The Ba***ds of Bollywood, directed by Aryan, features Lakshya, Sahher Bambba, Raghav, Manoj Pahwa, and Anya Singh. It marked Aryan's debut directorial.