Sameer Wankhede dismisses feud with Shah Rukh Khan, calls himself ‘a very small man’

Ex-Narcotics Control Bureau officer Sameer Wankhede has set the record straight on his alleged animosity with Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, insisting that his defamation lawsuit against Netflix and Red Chillies Entertainment is strictly about protecting his reputation — not a personal vendetta.

The legal action stems from the Netflix series Ba**ds of Bollywood, directed by Aryan Khan, which Wankhede claims portrays a defamatory version of him. He argues that the portrayal damages his professional standing and erodes public trust in law enforcement.

Addressing rumors of a feud with Khan, Wankhede said, “There is none… I am an officer of law. Whatever books and Acts are there, I follow them. We are not living in some kind of banana republic. We have a constitution, a system, and a chain of command. I am a very small man, just a government servant. How can anybody hold a grudge? These are just loose talks.”

The defamation suit and its backdrop

The controversy dates back to October 2021, when Wankhede, then zonal director of the NCB, led a raid on a Mumbai cruise ship resulting in the arrest of Aryan Khan and others. Aryan spent nearly three weeks in jail before securing bail and was ultimately cleared in May 2022 due to lack of evidence.

Following Aryan’s release, allegations emerged that a bribe had been demanded from the Khan family for his freedom. This led to a corruption case against Wankhede by the CBI in May 2023 — charges he has consistently denied, calling them politically motivated.

In September 2025, he filed the defamation suit against Netflix and Red Chilies, asserting that Ba**ds Of Bollywood features a malicious parody of him and tarnishes the image of law enforcement.

Clarifying the 2021 chat leak claims

Wankhede also addressed reports that private chats with Shah Rukh Khan from 2021 were leaked during the CBI investigation. “I will tell you what the fact is. There was a writ petition I filed before the Hon’ble Bombay High Court. In that writ, I had to present some evidence. So why would I ‘leak’ it? I brought it before the court legally,” he said.

He explained that he submitted a 65B certificate under India’s Evidence Act to authenticate electronic records, ensuring that all evidence was presented properly and within the law.