Sameer Wankhede Clears Air On Animosity With SRK Over Leaked Chats: 'I'm A Very Small Man'

Ex-NCB officer Sameer Wankhede has opened up about the ongoing defamation lawsuit against Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment and Netflix over the series Ba***ds Of Bollywood. The case revolves

around a character in the Netflix series, directed by Aryan Khan, which Wankhede alleges is a defamatory portrayal of him, damaging his reputation and undermining public confidence in law enforcement.

Addressing speculation about personal animosity with Shah Rukh Khan, Wankhede was firm. He told HT City, “There is none… I am an officer of law, whatever books and Acts are there, I do as per that. We are not living in some kind of a banana republic out here. We have a constitution, we have a system, we have a set up. There’s a chain of command. I am a very small man, just a government servant. How can anybody have such a grudge and all those things, you know? These things are just loose talks.”

The Defamation Suit
The controversy dates back to October 2021 when Wankhede, as zonal director of the NCB, led a raid on a Mumbai cruise ship resulting in the arrest of Aryan Khan and others. Aryan spent nearly three weeks in jail before being granted bail and was later cleared in May 2022 due to “lack of evidence.”

Following his release, allegations emerged claiming that a bribe had been demanded from the Khan family to secure Aryan’s release, which led to a corruption case against Wankhede in May 2023 by the CBI. Wankhede has consistently denied all charges, calling them politically motivated. In September 2025, he filed a defamation suit against Netflix and Red Chillies, asserting that Ba***ds Of Bollywood features a malicious parody of him and tarnishes the image of law enforcement officers.

Wankhede Clarifies 2021 Chat Leak Claims
Wankhede also addressed claims that private chats with Shah Rukh Khan from 2021 were leaked during the CBI investigation. “I will tell you what the fact is. There was a writ petition which I had filed before the Hon’ble Bombay High Court. In that writ I had to present some evidence in front of the court. So why will I ‘leak’ it? I will bring it to the Hon’ble Court. What is my motive in ‘leaking’ those things?” he said.

He further explained the legal process, adding that he provided a 65B certificate required under India’s Evidence Act to authenticate electronic records, ensuring that all evidence was presented legally and appropriately.