Shah Rukh Khan's Red Chillies Calls Sameer Wankhede's Defamation Case Against The Ba***ds Of Bollywood 'Devoid Of Merit'

Shah

Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment has officially responded to the defamation plea filed by Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer and former NCB Mumbai Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede, calling his allegations “wholly misconceived, untenable in law, and devoid of merit.”The production company filed its detailed affidavit before the Delhi High Court opposing Wankhede’s request to restrain the streaming of Aryan Khan’s Netflix directorial debut The Ba***ds of Bollywood. Red Chillies has maintained that the show is “a work of situational satire” and contains no direct reference to or depiction of Wankhede. The reply, sworn by authorised signatory Venkatesh Mysore, emphasizes that the series “does not contain any defamatory material.”

Claims of unblemished record disputed

Red Chillies’ reply disputes Wankhede’s claim of maintaining an unblemished record, citing the CBI FIR registered against him in May 2023 for alleged extortion and corruption. The response states, “The existence of the FIR and the necessity for interim protection undermine the Plaintiff’s claim of an unblemished reputation.”It further points out that Wankhede was already the subject of “public ridicule and adverse commentary” well before the series was released, arguing that he cannot claim new reputational harm from The Ba***ds of Bollywood.Red Chillies maintains that The Ba***ds of Bollywood is a satirical exploration of the entertainment industry - touching upon issues such as nepotism, paparazzi culture, and celebrity controversies - and uses humour, exaggeration, and parody as “protected forms of artistic expression under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution.”The company asserts that the scene objected to by Wankhede, lasting “only one minute and forty-eight seconds,” simply portrays “an overzealous officer” and does not make any defamatory reference to him.Citing the landmark Bonnard v. Perryman principle, Red Chillies cautions that granting pre-trial injunctions in defamation suits would amount to prior restraint on free speech. “Satire allows the satirist to criticise in the harshest of terms and is not intended to disparage or harm reputation,” the reply reads. “Whether the comment is satirical or malicious can only be determined at trial.”

Red Chillies talks about artistic freedom

The company further argues that as a public servant, Wankhede must be open to public scrutiny. “Those who fill public positions must not be too thin-skinned. A person whose conduct has been the subject of official inquiry cannot claim special protection from fair comment or satire,” the affidavit notes.Calling the plea “an attempt to stifle legitimate artistic expression,” Red Chillies contends that removing the impugned clip would disrupt the narrative flow of the show, which premiered on Netflix on September 18, 2025. The company adds that any perceived injury is compensable by damages, whereas an injunction would cause “irreparable prejudice to creative freedom and set a dangerous precedent.”The Delhi High Court has directed all parties to file their written submissions and scheduled the next hearing for November 10 before Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav.Earlier, the Court had issued notices to Netflix, Red Chillies Entertainment, and others following Wankhede’s plea seeking a permanent injunction and Rs 2 crore in damages for alleged defamation.With inputs from ANI