Mumbai: A day after internet and social media was abuzz with speculations that Shah Rukh Khan's upcoming film Jawan's dialogue 'Bete ko haath lagane se pehle, baap se baat kar' was directed at former NCB chief Sameer Wankhede, the tainted officer in a cryptic post and oblique retort on X (formerly Twitter) shared a quote by Nicole Lyons which read, "I have licked the fire and danced in the ashes of every bridge I ever burned. I fear no hell from you." Netizens are now wondering if this is Wankhede's way of giving it back to Shah Rukh, whose latest film Jawan's trailer created a frenzy on Thursday (August 31) and the 'Bete ko haath lagane se pehle' dialogue becoming a talking point among fans.
Jawan trailer has people guessing
The whole episode started with Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan dropping the official trailer of his upcoming film Jawan on August 31 as announced earlier. The two-minute-forty-five-second clip introduced the actor in a dual role - father and son. Khan is seen sporting a plethora of looks in the film's trailer. However, the dialogue, “Bete ko haath lagane se pehle, baap se baat kar,” became the talking point, as netizens felt it was a clear reference to the whole Aryan Khan and Cordelia cruise drug bust case, which had Sameer Wankhede at the center of the controversy.
Cordelia cruise drug bust case
Sameer Wankhede, who was the former zonal director of the Narcotics Control Bureau, is one of the main accused in the bribery case in the matter involving Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan. Khan's son Aryan was arrested after a drug bust on Cordelia cruise in October 2021. However, the subsequent developments brought Sameer Wankhede's role under scanner with the officer becoming an accused in the Aryan Khan bribery case.
Alleged WhatsApp chat between Shah Rukh Khan and Sameer Wankhede
In May 2023, an alleged series of WhatsApp chats between Shah Rukh Khan and Former Mumbai Zonal Director of NCB Sameer Wankhede was exclusively accessed by the Free Press Journal.
The purported conversations between the actor and the ex-NCB officer is also part of Wankhede's petition seeking the quashing of the CBI FIR against him.
In the chat dated October 14 2021, over 10 days after Aryan Khan's arrest, SRK had texted and pleaded Wankhede on WhatsApp saying, "You are a good man. Please be kind to my son. My son will break as a human being. I can only plead and beg you as a father. Please. You promised you will reform my child. I would never stand in front of what you are doing. I have just believe in your goodness."