Not publicity, but dignity: Sameer Wankhede on taking Shah Rukh, Aryan Khan to court for Ba***ds of Bollywood

Amid a high-profile defamation case against Netflix and Red Chillies Entertainment, ex-NCB officer Sameer Wankhede speaks with conviction and confidence. For him, this fight is not about publicity, but about defending dignity- of his family, the women in his family who faced online harassment, and the officers who risk their lives in anti-drug operations. In an exclusive, freewheeling conversation with HT City's Rishabh Suri, Sameer addresses misleading narratives and claims of personal animosity with actor Shah Rukh Khan.

It all started in 2021, when Shah Rukh's son Aryan was arrested by Sameer during a drug raid conducted on a cruise in Mumbai. Aryan was given a clean chit in 2022, and went on to direct the recent Netflix show, The Ba***ds of Bollywood. One of the characters, allegedly resembling Sameer, poked fun at him and the national emblem. He approached the court. Excerpts from the chat:

Summons has been issued to Netflix and Red Chillies Entertainment in the defamation case filed by you against them. Do you see this as some sort of victory in your fight?

It was reported earlier by a publication that my petition had got ‘dismissed’. I was really upset why such a thing happened, when the reality is I was asked just to file an amendment basically. We brought to the Court’s notice too, that despite us being asked to file an amendment, some PR campaign is running about my case being 'dismissed' or 'rejected'.

I have maintained it every time, that I have immense faith in our judiciary, the law of the land. I knew it very well, that if there is truth in whatever you are saying, the judiciary will definitely take cognizance. I'm happy at least whatever we are saying, there is a look or a thought given by the Hon'ble High Court. Let's see what comes out of it now. The hearing happens on October 30.

You mention ‘PR activities’ happening against you. Can you tell us in detail what is it exactly?

There are some meme pages which are related to the entertainment industry… without going into the merits of the case, without reading what’s happening, they are putting out half baked news with flashy headlines. For example, here in this case the observation of the Hon'ble High Court was that the case is not maintainable, so the amendment was allowed. Only half of this thing was put out by them. After that my wife and my sister started receiving bad and humiliating messages on the lines of ‘aapka case reject ho gaya, yahaan se laat mil gayi’, and even the kind of words which I cannot say in the media. They humiliated the women of my house.

Who do you think is getting this done? Could it be the other party in this case, doing it to get to you?

I don't want to allege on anybody, but there are some pages setting a kind of a narrative, basically. There are some fan pages and fan groups who are deliberately sent to troll, write dirty stuff in their messages to women so that they get offended, humiliated, and it is mental torture. It doesn’t matter because we have taken all those things and presented before the Hon'ble High Court.

Even when the Court has decided to proceed with a hearing after trusting you, there is a section who still maintains that Sameer Wankhede has been doing all this for publicity and attention. What would you say about this?

It’s being said that my portrayal was some kind of ‘satire’ (in the show), but I would like to state three things: First, I am fighting for the honor of my family. And the honor of women as well. Self-respect is very important for any individual. Secondly, it is for the honor of the law enforcement officers, be it NCB, Customs or any beat. Anti-drug operations are such a serious thing. We all know what’s happening in the country and what the agencies are putting their efforts into, to fight. 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. Here, officers are shedding their blood to fight this. Thirdly, it is a matter of the national emblem’s honor. You cannot show a middle finger and play with national honor! As a citizen, I will definitely fight for these things.

Some also say that you have some sort of animosity with Shah Rukh Khan, which goes back long. There have been other instances…

There is no… I am an officer of law, whatever books and Acts are there, I do as per that. We are not living in some kind of a banana republic out here. We have a constitution, we have a system, we have a set up. There’s a chain of command. I am a very small man, just a government servant. How can anybody have such a grudge and all those things, you know? There is a system for checks and balances. So these things are just loose talks.

And then there was the claim that chats from 2021 (between Shah Rukh to Sameer) were leaked by you? (This dates back to the time when CBI had filed a corruption case against Sameer in 2023, and in July this year CBI told the Bombay High Court that it will wrap up its probe in three months)

I will tell you what the fact is. There was a writ petition which I had filed before the Hon’ble Bombay High Court. In that writ I had to present some evidence in front of the court. So why will I 'leak' it? I will bring it to the Hon’ble Court. What is my motive in “leaking” those things? In any case, those things will be coming out when any arguments will be happening. So what is the intention to leak? And what is wrong in those chats? The matter is before the honorable High Court. And along with that, I've given 65B certificate also. So why leaking and doing all those things? It is my job which I presented to the honorable court. (A 65B certificate is a legal document required under India's Evidence Act, 1872 to authenticate electronic records, making them admissible as evidence in court).

Your defamation case is about a character in The Ba***ds of Bollywood allegedly resembling and mocking you. Today, many celebrities have been approaching the court to get their personality rights protected, because even a likeness to how one looks and behaves comes under scrutiny. Do you think that had you also protected your personality rights, all this would not have happened?

You are right about celebs getting their personality rights protected. As for me, this is a matter which is handled by my legal counsels, so it will be very immature to comment on anything which I'm not aware of. I'm not that well aware of these kind of issues. It’s the first time I'm dealing with this, so I will be incompetent to answer it.

Have you thought of maybe, going forward, getting your personality rights protected so none of this happens again?

No, nothing as of now. I'm just focusing on the suit which I have filed, and I'll be fighting for the justice.

My last question to you, you are fighting this case for your dignity…

(cuts in) not just my own, but the dignity of the department and officers also. The next time nobody should make satire on cops or law enforcement.

Right. What sort of a future do you see for yourself and the department?

I'm serving the government of India, so like a loyal soldier, wherever I'm posted, I'll be serving there.

I will just do my duty, that’s it.

(This story first appeared in the Hindustan Times)