Sign in Subscribe
Libel and slander

Red Chillies Entertainment Seeks Dismissal of Wankhede's Defamation Suit Against Netflix

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

Red Chillies Entertainment, a production company founded by Shah Rukh Khan, has filed a reply in the Delhi High Court seeking dismissal of a defamation suit filed by former NCB officer Sameer Wankhede against the company and Netflix. The suit alleges that the series "Ba***ds of Bollywood" defamed Wankhede, but Red Chillies Entertainment claims that the series is a situational satire on Bollywood, with characters depicted in an exaggerated manner to generate humor and underscore societal absurdities. The company argues that Wankhede's reputation had already been adversely affected in the public domain before the release of the series, and that he is seeking to silence artistic and satirical portrayals.

Key Takeaways:

  • Red Chillies Entertainment claims that the series "Ba***ds of Bollywood" is a situational satire on Bollywood, with characters depicted in an exaggerated manner to generate humor and underscore societal absurdities.
  • The company argues that Wankhede's reputation had already been adversely affected in the public domain before the release of the series, due to his involvement in the arrest of Aryan Khan and other public criticism.
  • The series' creators also contend that deleting the clip Wankhede seeks to remove would create a "broken narrative" and undermine the integrity of the series as a whole.
  • Wankhede had approached the court to take down the content from Episode 1 of the series that features a character who closely resembles him in both appearance and mannerisms.
  • The suit against Red Chillies Entertainment and Netflix was listed before a bench of Justice Purushindra Kumar Kaurav on Thursday, but was adjourned to November 10 to allow all parties to file written submissions.

Statistics:

  • 35 pages: The length of Red Chillies Entertainment's reply to the defamation suit.
  • 2021: The year in which Aryan Khan and five others were arrested by Wankhede in an NCB raid on a cruise ship.
  • 2022: The year in which Aryan Khan and five others were exonerated by NCB.

Sources:

  • Red Chillies Entertainment's reply to the defamation suit (October 2023)
  • Hindustan Times article (October 31, 2023)

Read more