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Sameer Wankhede had arrested Shahrukh Khan’s son Aryan in the cruise drugs case.
Shahrukh Khan’s company Red Chillies Entertainment has filed its reply on the defamation petition of IRS officer Sameer Wankhede in Delhi High Court.
Red Chillies said in the court that the show is satire and parody. According to the company, the characters shown in it are not based on any real person, hence it cannot be called defamation.
Actually, Wankhede had filed a defamation case regarding his alleged role in Netflix’s series The Bads of Bollywood. This show has been directed by Shahrukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan. It was produced by Red Chillies and is streamed on Netflix.
According to the report of Live Law, the company said in its reply, “The scene in question is only 1 minute and 48 seconds long in the entire show. It simply shows a police officer being overzealous. There is nothing defamatory in it.”
The company said that this content falls within the scope of freedom of art and expression, which is protected under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution. He says that such content can be banned or censored only if it is included in the reasons mentioned in Article 19(2).
Sameer Wankhede is a 2008 batch Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer.
Red Chillies said that Wankhede is a government officer, hence he should handle criticism and creative expression. “People in public positions should not overreact so quickly,” the company said.
The company also said that the show deals with various aspects of the Bollywood industry such as nepotism, paparazzi culture, adultery and the difficulties faced by new actors in a humorous and exaggerated manner.
Red Chillies says that since this is a satirical series, all the characters in it have been deliberately shown a little extra and over. Such characters are just there to make people laugh, think and draw attention to social issues. The company said, “Overacting or overdrama in satire is part of the art — its purpose is to entertain and provoke thought, not to tarnish anyone’s image.”
The case was heard by the bench of Justice Purushendra Kumar Kaurav. The court has asked all the parties to file their written replies by November 10.
What is the whole matter?
Sameer Wankhede has sought damages of Rs 2 crore regarding the show The Bads of Bollywood. He says that the character of the police officer shown in the show harms his image. Especially because his and Aryan Khan’s case is currently going on in the Bombay High Court and NDPS Special Court.
Actor Ashish Kumar’s role in the Aryan Khan series looks like Sameer Wankhede.
Wankhede has filed this case against Shahrukh Khan’s company Red Chillies and Netflix. He said that if he gets compensation, he will donate the entire amount to Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital.
Sameer Wankhede came into limelight in 2021 when he arrested Aryan Khan in the cruise drugs case. This matter was discussed in the entire country.
