Aryan Khan's Ba**ds of Bollywood lampoons Bollywood, Netflix defends content before Delhi HC

New Delhi: Netflix informed the Delhi High Court on Thursday that Aryan Khan’s show Ba**ds of Bollywood takes a satirical look at the inner workings of Bollywood, and that former NCB officer Sameer Wankhede should not be oversensitive over a brief one-and-a-half-minute scene, according to Bar & Bench.

Senior Advocate Rajiv Nayar, appearing for Netflix, said the show features Karan Johar joking about himself, Imran Hashmi as an intimacy coach, and discusses issues like drug abuse, MeToo, nepotism, and insider-versus-outsider debates. “Everybody has been painted with some side of parody or satire. When the series is viewed as a whole, it is a broad lampooning of Bollywood… This is the theme. Actually, the theme is to expose Bollywood and its workings,” Nayar said.

The matter is part of a defamation case filed by Wankhede over how he is portrayed in the show, produced by Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment and streamed on Netflix. The Court is hearing Wankhede’s request for interim relief.

Nayar pointed out that Wankhede had previously invited public attention and said he was “broad-chested” enough to handle criticism. “The plaintiff says my shoulders are broad enough to handle any criticism. If he enjoys that, why does he get sensitive about 1.5 minutes of the satire or parody,” Nayar argued.

He added that the prior history between Aryan Khan and Wankhede, including the drug bust case, does not show malice. “At the highest, his case is that Aryan Khan spoke out of dislike or ill will towards him. Even then, he does not waive the threshold of malice,” he said.

The Court asked Wankhede to provide details of any ongoing or past legal proceedings. The next hearing is set for December 2, when Wankhede’s lawyer, Senior Advocate J Sai Deepak, will respond.