Aryan Khan on The Ba***ds of Bollywood: ‘We wanted to be self-deprecating, not disrespectful’ amid Sameer Wankhede defamation suit |

Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan has stepped behind the camera with his directorial debut, the Netflix series The Ba***ds of Bollywood. The series, however, has already courted controversy after IRS officer Sameer Wankhede filed a defamation suit against Aryan, Red Chillies Entertainment, and Netflix, claiming the show maligned his reputation.In a recent interview with Variety, Aryan explained how the team approached comedy while staying mindful of the industry they were portraying. “We wanted to be self-deprecating, but not disrespectful anywhere. So I think we maintained that line correctly, and the guardrails were self-imposed, mostly because, making something about the industry and being a part of the industry, there has to be — there is a lot of respect,” he said.Aryan emphasised that taking jokes on oneself is the core of good comedy. “People being able to take jokes on themselves, I feel, is the first and most important thing about comedy. Take a joke on yourself and then spread the love. People were extremely sporting, and we also made an effort not to push boundaries in terms of being disrespectful, only being self-deprecating,” he added.He also clarified that while some scenes are inspired by “certain realities,” the series is not a documentary and has deliberately exaggerated elements for entertainment.The Ba***ds of Bollywood features Lakshya, Bobby Deol, Raghav Juyal, Anya Singh, Manoj Pahwa, Manish Chaudhari, Sahher Bambba, Gautami Kapoor, Rajat Bedi, among others, with cameos by Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan, SS Rajamouli, and Disha Patani.

Legal storm

The defamation suit by Sameer Wankhede was filed in the Delhi High Court, seeking Rs 2 crore in damages, which he intends to donate to Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital. Summons were issued on October 8 to Red Chillies Entertainment, Netflix, X Corp, Google, Meta, and RPSG Lifestyle Media Private Limited, with the next hearing scheduled for October 30.

Backstory: The Cordelia case

Wankhede was the officer in the 2022 Cordelia cruise case, where Aryan was taken into custody for alleged drug possession. He spent 25 days in jail before being granted bail. The case was eventually dropped, and Wankhede was later removed from the investigation following allegations of blackmail. In May 2023, the Bombay High Court admitted his petition to quash a CBI FIR alleging bribery.