Actor Ashish Kumar distances himself as Sameer Wankhede’s defamation suit against SRK’s Red Chillies gets dismissed

A Delhi court has rejected the defamation plea filed by former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officer Sameer Wankhede against Red Chillies Entertainment, the production house of Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan, over its Netflix series Ba***ds of Bollywood.

While Wankhede argued that the show maligned his image by portraying a narcotics officer resembling him, the spotlight has unexpectedly shifted to actor Ashish Kumar, who plays the role in question.

Kumar, who recently shared a still from the series where he appears in a narcotics officer’s uniform, said many people began comparing him to someone else, a clear allusion to Wankhede. However, the actor quickly distanced himself from the controversy.

“I am not anyone else, I just did my job by playing the cop’s role,” Ashish clarified. He added that the picture he posted was part of his own work and that he has every right to use it. “It’s me, I am him, and I can use the picture for myself. I don’t like any kind of cheap publicity,” he stressed.

In his plea, Wankhede alleged that the series made a direct link to the 2021 drugs-on-cruise case involving Shah Rukh Khan’s son, Aryan Khan, claiming the fictional narcotics officer targets only Bollywood celebrities. He sought damages of Rs 2 crore and demanded removal of specific scenes.

However, Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav dismissed the case, ruling that Delhi was not the proper jurisdiction since the series was produced and shot in Mumbai. “Your plaint is not maintainable here in Delhi,” the judge observed, rejecting Wankhede’s claim.

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