Scam 2003 rides high on Telgi’s ‘daring’ as Indian aspirations collide with the law
Telgi’s struggles and ambitions feel true to life and easy to relate to but the intense drama of the first season doesn’t build up in Scam 2003.
Starring: Gagan Dev Riar, Talat Aziz, Sana Amin Shaikh, Bhavna Balsavar, among others.
Hansal Mehta’s Scam 1992 was highly successful and a very well-received portrayal of Harshad Mehta’s stock market scam. The second season, Scam 2003, has all the elements of another eye-popping, mind-numbing quintessential Indian scam in place.
Directed by Tushar Hiranandani, with Hansal Mehta, who directed the original popular series, as the showrunner, Scam 2003 opens the history book to show all that went on behind the scenes in the stamp paper scam of 2003 masterminded by Abdul Karim Telgi. The scam, which was estimated to be worth Rs 30,000 crore, sent shockwaves across India’s business landscape, implicating government and police officials.
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The series, based on Sanjay Singh’s Telgi Scam: Reporters Ki Diary, depicts the protagonist's desire to beat destiny and make incredible wealth, his ingenuity and courage to break rules, and lucky breaks for an unlucky man. Yet, this season doesn’t have the gripping narrative of the first season, nor does it convincingly immerse the viewer into its story.
Telgi (Gagan Dev Riar) is a sweet talker who has seen great financial struggles right from childhood, selling fruits in trains. A hotel business owner (Talat Aziz) spots his smooth marketing skills on a train and offers him a once-in-a-life opportunity to come to Mumbai and work for him. Soon, Telgi converts his business into a success and marries a beautiful girl (Sana Amin Shaikh).
He moves to the UAE to make money but returns eight years later, seeking opportunities to make a quick buck, even if he has to bend the laws. What follows a tale of greed and gluttony that places Telgi and his associates in the underbelly of the stock market and sets them rolling on a collision course with the authorities.
In the series, Telgi’s character feels authentic, regular and easy to relate to. His poverty compels him to challenge legal limitations that won’t allow him to aim high. Riar has transformed himself to resemble the real Telgi in gait, body language, and even voice. A theatre actor who has been struggling for a suitable break on OTT, he made small but significant impact in parts in A Suitable Boy, Sonchiriya, and Mira Nair’s Broadway Monsoon Wedding Musical. He has transformed himself for this part, becoming a likeable and convincing Telgi.
As with the first season, this Applause Entertainment and Sony Liv’s Studio Nxt production doesn’t judge Telgi, making his struggles feel personal and his dreams easy to connect with. A fine balance that the director struck in the first season was to make Harshad Mehta feel like a victorious man, almost a hero. He delved into the unsaid belief held among Indians that those who bend and break the rules to emerge rich and successful are admired, not judged as criminals by many.
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In the second season, writers Karan Vyas and Kiran Yadnyopavit have made use of this element successfully to portray Telgi’s challenges as very real. This is exemplified by the dialogue, “If you have to become something in life, then you have to have daring.” In colloquial Gujarati, the term ‘daring’ means courage, chutzpah, and brazen rule-breaking. Rather than judge his choices, one is fascinated to observe the route that he takes to make the near-impossible happen. He is a negotiator, risk-taker, dreamer and fighter in the common Indian man’s terry-cotton garb.
Without embellishing his inner world, Telgi—simple, basic, and cramped living in a lower-middle-class Muslim neighbourhood of Mumbai—expresses his ambitions which are brought alive by his ability to manipulate the rules and influence government employees. Whether it’s through bribing or horse-trading, Telgi’s game is smart as he thinks two steps ahead. However, even when he loses sight of his morals, he remains a committed father and family man.
Each actor, led by Riar, delivers a rooted and grounded performance. Hemang Vyas plays Kauhal Jhaveri, Telgi’s estranged friend, delivering an authentic act. Mukesh Chhabra has put together an ensemble cast from theatre and regional television who pepper the decade-long scam with ease.
Sana Amin Shaikh delivers a convincing performance of her naivete. The women in the series are coloured in extremes. They are either very good or downright corrupt, perhaps because this story is mostly told from Telgi’s point of view.
The set design and art direction need to be applauded for visual accuracy, transporting the viewer back in 2003 with its eye on details to things like telephones, signage, and printing machines. The costume design too has kept up with the era—to show both poverty and affluence.
The dialogues are catchy. Dialogues like “All of us come into this world to earn something” are used effectively in appropriate moments and don’t come snobbish.
Harshad Mehta’s spotlight on bravado and ambition had made Scam 1992 a riveting watch. Season 2 has a wider approach—a poor man trying to become super rich by manipulating a corrupt political and police system. Scam 2003 is easy to relate to, even making one root for Telgi despite his criminal intent.
More than being binge-worthy, the series makes you introspect.
Rating: 4/5
Edited by Kanishk Singh