'Bete ko haath lagane...': Wankhede found SRK's 'Jawan' dialogue 'cheap'
What's the story
Former zonal director of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Sameer Wankhede has slammed a dialogue from Shah Rukh Khan's 2023 blockbuster Jawan.
The line, "Bete ko haath lagane se pehle baap se baat kar (Before touching my son, talk to the father)," is rumored to be a dig at Wankhede.
The former NCB official was on the team that arrested Khan's son Aryan Khan in 2021.
Context
Why does this story matter?
In October 2021, Aryan was nabbed from a cruise off the Mumbai coast, accused of possessing and consuming drugs.
After spending nearly a month in custody, Aryan was granted bail and finally, in March 2022, an NCB SIT gave the star kid a clean chit, having found several lapses in the probe conducted by Wankhede and team.
While SRK remained silent throughout the ordeal, many fans thought his goosebumps-inducing dialogue in Jawan mirrored his real life.
Reaction
Wankhede deemed the dialogue 'cheap' and 'third-rate'
In a recent interview on The Gaurav Thakur Show, Wankhede was asked how he reacted to the dialogue.
While he stopped short of saying if it was aimed at him, he called it "cheap" and "third-rate."
He said, "And this dialogue which you mentioned...words like 'baap' and 'beta' sound very cheap and third-rate according to me. In Indian culture, we do not use these words."
Stance
Wankhede refused to 'stoop to the level' of responding
Wankhede further said that he was reluctant to respond to such dialogues. "I cannot be expected to go down to that level and respond," he said.
His remarks have added a new twist to the ongoing saga between him and Khan, which started with Aryan's arrest three years back.
The case is now under the Bombay High Court's review after allegations of procedural irregularities during the investigation emerged.