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The Ba***ds Of Bollywood: Aryan Khan's Netflix Series Is Both Satire & Sobering Exposition On Stardom

Khan’s debut work, imbued with a zany visual language and skillfully orchestrated action sequences, is more than its shiny outer shell, writes Ishita Sengupta.

Ishita+Sengupta
Sep 19, 2025
The Bads of Bollywood poster detail. Netflix
BOLLYWOOD IS MANY THINGS. The ugly, sweeping, mimicked moniker is an industry and a genre. It is a person and a personhood, a lifestyle and a livelihood. Over the years, multiple films have attempted taming the beast and dissecting, in varied ways, the mechanics of the space. If Farah Khan depicted an origin story of sorts in Om Shanti Om (2007) then Zoya Akhtar offered a more intimate portrayal of the industry through the lens of outsiders. Aryan Khan’s directorial, The Ba***ds of Bollywood lies somewhere in between. The seven-episode series has the campiness of Khan’s film and the conviction of Akhtar’s debut, culminating eventually as a show that deftly straddles emphasis with frivolity.The premise is all too familiar — sparking more assumption than curiosity. An outsider from Delhi, Aasmaan Singh (Lakshya) is primed to be the next big thing in Bollywood. His film Revolver is a hit. The success has led to brand deals and a three-film offer from the producer who launched him, Freddy Sodawallah (the smirkiest Manish Chaudhari has been). While his high-strung manager Sanya (Anya Singh) cautions against it, Aasmaan commits to the deal and puts a prospective romantic film with Karan Johar in jeopardy. When the legal hurdle clears (Freddy, initially, agrees), another problem crops up. Ajay Talwar (Bobby Deol), the ageing and reigning superstar, is reluctant for his daughter, Karishma (Sahher Bambba) to debut with an outsider. Unknown to the rest, he plans to sabotage Aasmaan’s casting.
An obvious reading of privilege and envy emerges from this. Insiders being salty towards outsiders might not be an ingenious plot point but it is still a relevant one. Son of superstar Shah Rukh Khan, as a filmmaker Aryan also enjoys the kind of access that could benefit such a narrative. But presumption here is sidestepped for pulp. Khan’s rendering of the industry is as disillusioned as empathetic; his voice as confessional as caustic. The Ba***ds of Bollywood unfolds whilst confirming suspicions about the mythical place (Johar, as himself, plays the patron saint of nepo kids and refuses to help someone who isn’t) — and reiterating its charm.In Mumbai, Aasmaan lives with his best friend Parvaiz (a fantastic Raghav Juyal) but he is not the only one from his family to harbour such a dream. Many years ago, his mother (Mona Singh) had tried her luck in the industry but remained a background dancer and then quit; his musician uncle (Manoj Pahwa), however, is still at it. There is also Jaraj Saxena (Rajat Bedi), a has-been who keeps turning up at events only to be ignored by the paparazzi and insulted by makers. And yet, he refuses to give up because, he says, there is a difference between giving up and giving in (to fate).
Written by Bilal Siddiqi, Manav Chauhan and Khan (the latter has also furnished the dialogues), The Ba***ds of Bollywood, for the most part, remains preoccupied with the frills. One star cameo follows another (SS Rajamouli and Aamir Khan debating over food with the seriousness of two auteurs discussing shot division is hilarious, so is an extended appearance of Emraan Hashmi as an intimacy coach) only for Shah Rukh himself to arrive on stage. Aryan Khan displays a genuine eye for humour in lightness (Juyal playing Hashmi’s big fan and singing ‘Kaho Na Kaho’ with tears in his eyes is a highlight) and includes even himself in jokes. He takes a dig at Sameer Wankhede, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officer who had arrested him in 2021; in one scene, a grim Shanaya Kapoor on the red carpet is told by her mother Maheep to “not pull an Aryan”, famous as he is for not smiling in pictures.But these ornamentations, though effective, is not only what Ba***ds of Bollywood is about. Nor do homages, as is often the case with shows like this, clog the runtime. There are some obvious instances, like a hat tip to the funeral scene from Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001) or an Om Shanti Om-styled award show but Khan’s debut work, imbued with a zany visual language and skillfully orchestrated action sequences, is also more than its shiny outer shell.
Designed as a satire, Ba***ds of Bollywood doubles up as a sobering exposition of stardom. Khan achieves something distinct here. Although his tone is sardonic, he locates a flawed, almost humane underside to the glitter and clinches his position as an insider with full force. He presents stars both as they are shown and the way they are, but his portrayal of reality, shorn of delusions, is still gentle. The show arrives at it through an off-kilter twist which, excessive and outlandish, is also becoming of the world the show belongs to.A lot of it works due to the actors. After Kill (2023), this is the second pairing of Lakshya and Juyal and both actors share incredible chemistry. Pahwa, as always, is immensely watchable and so is Singh. It is Deol, however, who is rousingly effective. The actor is compelling as a superstar with a lit cigarette perpetually hanging from his mouth. His character is charming and persuasive, a rare “decent guy” in a predatory setting whose niceness is compromised but not tainted by stardom. It is a delicate balance and Deol not just executes it but also inhabits a charisma not seen before.

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Having said that, some niggling concerns remain. The first episode is sluggish with an ill-placed anti-drug messaging, there is also an underworld subplot that feels more like a comic relief than substantial. The writing does not tie certain loose ends (Aasmaan losing his phone and still living his life as a working actor with little care was hard to believe; so was his curated middle-class home). But if they become easy to overlook, it is because when the parts of the show that work are damn fun. The Ba***ds of Bollywood ends with the full disclosure of the title (the asterisks melt away) but the real revelation here is this: Aryan Khan has seen through the illusions of Bollywood and he is confirming the rumours.

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