India, Oct. 30 -- Actor Shah Rukh Khan's production house Red Chillies Entertainment has dismissed as "wholly misconceived and devoid of merit" the defamation suit filed by IRS officer Sameer Wankhede over the Netflix series The Ba**ds of Bollywood*.

In a written response to the Delhi High Court, Red Chillies said the show, directed by SRK's son Aryan Khan, is a "work of situational satire" that does not name or depict Wankhede and contains no defamatory material.

Arguing that satire is a protected form of expression under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution, the production house said such content relies on caricature and hyperbole to provoke thought and critique society.

"Such exaggeration cannot, by itself, constitute defamation," i...