Aryan Khan faced pushback over certain scenes and dialogues while shooting his directorial debut The Ba***ds of Bollywood, but refused to compromise on his vision for the Netflix show, he said in his first interview following the premiere of the seven-episode series.
“We did get some notes on certain scenes where they were like, ‘Oh, this is too this, or this is too that,’” Aryan said.
“But then I took a stand. If you don’t like it, the show may not be for you — or maybe it is, but you might not like it. Your 18-year-old kid might. Your uncle might. Everyone won’t react the same way,” he told Variety.
But he is quick to clarify that the show’s self-referential tone doesn’t mean it takes cheap shots. “We wanted to be self-deprecating, not disrespectful,” Aryan said. “People being able to take a joke on themselves — that’s the first and most important thing about comedy.”
Aryan co-wrote the seven-episode Netflix series — produced by Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment — with Bilal Siddiqi and Manav Chauhan, both of whom have worked with him since their teenage years making short films.
Siddiqi described the show as “difficult to define”, adding that it shifts effortlessly between action, comedy, and heartbreak. Aryan agreed: “Since it’s about the film industry, we can borrow from any genre — a rom-com in one scene, a thriller the next — and it still makes sense.”
“We had guardrails in our heads,” he elaborated. “We didn’t want to turn it into spoofy slapstick. The story, at its core, is a family drama. You’re supposed to feel the emotions of everyone involved.”
Khan’s co-writer Chauhan added that directing all seven episodes himself helped Aryan maintain a consistent tone. “The setups and payoffs are so precisely done — like Emraan Hashmi’s cameo that circles back in episode three — only Aryan could have tied them together that way,” Chauhan said.
Aryan recalled his father showing him the behind-the-scenes magic of visual effects and editing when he was a child. “By age 10, I was cutting clips on Final Cut Pro,” he said.
That curiosity evolved into a passion for storytelling — one he prefers to exercise behind the camera. “I always felt I had things to say, and I just wanted to tell them in my own way. There’s more control behind the camera. And it’s what I love doing,” the young filmmaker added.
The Ba***ds of Bollywood features Lakshya, Raghav Juyal, Anya Singh, Mona Singh, Bobby Deol, and Manoj Pahwa in key roles, with cameos from stars like Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Salman Khan, Karan Johar, and S.S. Rajamouli playing themselves.
But despite its starry canvas, Aryan insists The Ba**ds of Bollywood* is driven by character, not spectacle. “The heart of the show has always been the characters,” he said. “We wanted to create people you could take home with you, like Friends did. Something that stays with you.”
For all the outside feedback and inevitable comparisons, Aryan seems unfazed. “If you’re making something about an industry you’re part of, there’ll always be opinions,” he said. “But as long as you respect the world you’re depicting — and you’re honest about your story — that’s all that matters.”