New Delhi: Shah Rukh Khan’s production house, Red Chillies Entertainment, has told the Delhi High Court that former NCB officer Sameer Wankhede’s defamation claim against the Netflix series “Ba**ds of Bollywood” is misplaced — because his public image had already taken a hit long before the show’s release.

In its detailed 35-page reply, Red Chillies said the series — created, co-written and directed by Aryan Khan — is a situational satire on Bollywood, not a personal attack.

The studio argued that the characters are exaggerated for humour, reflecting “societal and situational absurdities,” and that Wankhede’s complaint stems from “hypersensitivity,” not genuine defamation.

“Even before the release of ‘Ba**ds of Bollywood’*, the plaintiff was already the subject of public ridicule and adverse commentary,” the reply said, pointing to the intense scrutiny and criticism Wankhede faced after the 2021 cruise ship raid in which Aryan Khan was arrested and later exonerated.

The company maintained that the show’s creative freedom falls under protected artistic expression, including parody and satire, and that deleting the scenes Wankhede objects to would “break the narrative” and compromise the integrity of the series.

Red Chillies further said the police officer character in the show — whom Wankhede claims resembles him — is unnamed and portrayed merely as “overzealous”, not malicious or defamatory.

Wankhede, represented by senior advocate J Sai Deepak, had approached the court seeking the removal of the episode that he claims “maligns his reputation.”

In his rejoinder filed on October 19, he alleged the series caused him fresh public ridicule and accused the producers of acting out of “malice, revenge, and commercial greed.”

The matter, heard by Justice Purushindra Kumar Kaurav, has been adjourned to November 10, after the court granted time to all parties — including Red Chillies, Netflix, and Wankhede — to file their written submissions.

Red Chillies was represented by senior advocates Neeraj Kishan Kaul and Shyel Trehan, while Rajiv Nayyar appeared for Netflix.

In essence, Red Chillies’ stand is clear: satire is not slander, and a reputation already dented by public discourse cannot be further defamed by fiction.