Ranbir Kapoor’s starry cameo in Aryan Khan’s debut sparks controversy — But is the show worth the noise?

Dubai: Ranbir Kapoor’s blink-and-miss cameo in Aryan Khan’s directorial debut The Ba***ds of Bollywood has become the flashpoint of a fresh controversy.

In the show’s finale, Kapoor, playing himself, is seen sharing a scene with Karan Johar and Anya Singh where he casually asks for a vape and takes a drag. That single moment has snowballed into trouble, with activist Vinay Joshi filing a complaint to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), arguing that the sequence promotes a banned product without a health disclaimer.

The NHRC acted swiftly, directing Mumbai Police to register a case against Kapoor, the show’s producers, and Netflix, citing violations of the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarette Act, 2019. The letter also urged the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to step in, while the Mumbai Police Commissioner has been asked to investigate e-cigarette supply chains and submit a report within two weeks.

While the vape scene dominates headlines, Aryan Khan’s debut deserves attention on its own merit. The Ba**ds of Bollywood* is a slick, meta, satirical action comedy that revels in skewering the duplicity and decadence of the Hindi film industry. It’s wicked, it’s self-aware, and it’s dripping with insider digs. And let’s be real — everyone pressed play to see if Aryan, son of Shah Rukh Khan, would dare throw shade at Bollywood’s beloved power players. Spoiler: he does, and with relish.

Karan Johar, for instance, plays a catty, manipulative movie mogul who toys with outsiders’ careers — petty, powerful, and pitch-perfect. Lakshya Lalwani is magnetic as the striver with enough sass and spine to batter Bollywood’s guarded gates, while Saher Bambba glitters as the archetypal silver-spoon nepo baby. Anya Singh, playing Lakshya’s loyal manager (a role that echoes SRK’s own right-hand Pooja Dadlani), holds her own brilliantly. Bobby Deol, in a delicious SRK-esque turn, struts as the superstar father desperate to keep his daughter away from “outsiders.”

Raghav Juyal nearly steals the series — his comic timing is razor-sharp, and his hilarious fanboy moment with Emraan Hashmi (who gleefully leans into his “kissing king” tag) is a highlight. Even the side characters shine — Saher’s bratty brother is a standout, irreverent and spot-on.

Of course, Aryan’s enviable access is written all over the series. The cameos are dizzying — Shah Rukh Khan himself, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan, Ranveer Singh, SS Rajamouli, Rajkummar Rao, Arjun Kapoor, Disha Patani, Shanaya Kapoor, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Emraan Hashmi, and many more. It feels indulgent, but it also works, because the entire project is one giant wink at Bollywood’s incestuous star system.

Yes, the product placements are shameless, and some of the twists border on ludicrous — but that’s Bollywood, isn’t it? Glossy, gaudy, and gloriously entertaining. Aryan extracts the best from his cast and, in the process, delivers a tongue-in-cheek exposé of the industry’s worst-kept secrets.

Controversial cameo aside, Aryan Khan’s The Ba***ds of Bollywood is not perfect — but it is deliciously watchable. The satire works, the cameos dazzle, and the sass stings just enough. Aryan’s debut may have sparked outrage, but strip away the noise and what you’re left with is a show that’s mildly entertaining and a bold, self-aware first step from a filmmaker born into Bollywood’s brightest spotlight.