Mumbai: Former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) zonal director Sameer Wankhede, who filed a defamation case against Aryan Khan’s ‘Ba***ds of Bollywood’, has alleged that his wife and sister are receiving death threats.
Wankhede, who shot into the limelight in October 2021 after arresting Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan in the drugs-on-cruise case, claimed that his family has been receiving hate messages from across Pakistan, the UAE and Bangladesh.
“My personal belief is that this has nothing to do with my job or my profession. In my personal capacity, I have approached the Delhi High Court. I wouldn’t like to comment on the court proceedings or the issues involved because the matter has been sub judice,” Wankhede was quoted as saying by ANI.
He further said that he filed the case against the makers of ‘Ba***ds of Bollywood’ as the series satire not only takes a dig at him but at all those who are working against drug abuse.
“We have regularly informed the police about the threats that my sister and my wife keep getting. I will not accept that because of me, they are facing the brunt of it,” the former NCB officer added.
Meanwhile, amid criticism, Aryan admitted that his directorial debut did face some criticism, but then he believes it’s all about creative choices.
“We did get some notes on certain scenes where they were like, ‘Oh, this is too this, or this is too that,’ but then I took a stand. If you don’t like it, I mean, the show is not meant for you… your 18-year-old kid might like it, or your uncle might like it who enjoys certain kinds of humour,” Aryan acknowledged.
Highlighting that ‘Ba***ds of Bollywood’ blends satire and exaggeration, he said, “We were pushing it for screen, obviously, but obviously, there’ll be things that are inspired. There’ll be scenes that are inspired by certain realities, and there’ll be exaggerations. It’s not, obviously, a documentary.”
After directing Wankhede to review his petition, the Delhi High Court issued summons to Red Chillies Entertainment, Netflix, X Corp, Google, Meta, and others in connection with the defamation case. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for October 30.
The Netflix series features Lakshya, Bobby Deol, Raghav Juyal, Anya Singh, Manoj Pahwa, and Sahher Bambba in pivotal roles, with cameos by Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan, Disha Patani, and S. S. Rajamouli.
