In a pointed rebuke, former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officer Sameer Wankhede has condemned the upcoming series Ba*ds of Bollywood, directed by Aryan Khan, for what he views as a derisive portrayal of law enforcement figures. The dispute traces back to the high-profile 2021 drug bust on a Mumbai cruise that led to Aryan’s brief detention, from which he was later exonerated in 2022.
Wankhede, who spearheaded the operation, has initiated a defamation lawsuit against Netflix and Red Chillies Entertainment, the production house linked to Shah Rukh Khan’s family. He insists the suit is no bid for the spotlight but a necessary stand to safeguard his family’s reputation, the integrity of anti-narcotics work, and the sanctity of national symbols. A particular scene in the series, he claims, caricatures an officer resembling him while gesturing crudely at the national emblem—a depiction he deems intolerable.
Court proceedings advanced recently with summons directed at Netflix and Red Chillies. Wankhede expressed frustration over inaccurate coverage suggesting his petition had been outright rejected. “I was really upset why such a thing happened, when the reality is I was asked just to file an amendment basically,” he clarified. He accused an orchestrated public relations effort of spreading falsehoods that his case was dismissed, even as the court accepted his revised filing and pressed forward.
The officer outlined three core motivations for his legal push. Primarily, it upholds his family’s dignity, particularly the women in his household, whose self-respect he holds paramount. Secondly, it shields the valor of NCB, customs, and frontline personnel engaged in perilous anti-drug raids. “Anti-drug operations are such a serious thing. Officers bleed. I have seen and been on operations where my staff suffered head injuries, legs are broken. You just cannot make a satire at the expense of this. It’s not something to laugh at or make fun of,” Wankhede emphasized.
Finally, he decried the trivialization of national pride. “You cannot show a middle finger and play with national honour! As a citizen, I will definitely fight for these things,” he asserted.
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The fallout from skewed reporting has exacted a steep emotional price. Wankhede recounted how entertainment-focused meme accounts amplified half-truths with sensational banners, triggering a barrage of abusive messages aimed at his wife and sister. “They humiliated the women of my house,” he revealed, underscoring how such distortions ripple into personal anguish. Despite the clearance of Aryan Khan’s name in 2022, Wankhede remains resolute, framing his battle as a broader defense against mockery of duty-bound public servants.
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