A scene from the teaser. (Courtesy: Hansal Mehta)
After the huge success of Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta story, Hansal Mehta is back with yet another exciting story. The teaser of his much-awaited web show Scam 2003: The Telgi Story is now out. Inspired by the Hindi book Reporter Ki Diary, authored by journalist Sanjay Singh, the web series deals with the multicrore fake stamp paper case orchestrated by Abdul Karim Telgi. The teaser, shared by Hansal Mehta, opens with some clips from Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta story with a voiceover saying, “1992, desh mai sabse bada financial scam hua Rs 5,000 crore ka. 2003 is baar scam itna bada tha ki mathematicians ke desh mein zero kum padh gaye Rs 30,000 crore. (In 1992, the country witnessed the biggest financial scam of Rs 5,000 crore. In 2003, the scam was so huge that there was a scarcity of zeroes in this country of mathematicians…Rs 30,000 crores.)”
Scam 2003: The Telgi Story, directed by Tushar Hiranandani, will be streaming on the OTT platform SonyLIV from September 2.
Theatre actor Gagan Dev Riar will play Abdul Karim Telgi. Though the makers didn't reveal his face in the teaser, his voice is heard saying: “Mereko paise kamane ka koi shauk nhi hai kyunki paisa kamaya nhi banaya jata hai. (I have no desire to earn money. Because money is not earned it is made.)”
Set in Mumbai, the teaser of Scam 2003: The Telgi Story showcases a montage of clips from the upcoming web series. It ends with yet another dialogue from Gagan Dev Riar aka Abdul Karim Telgi, “Life mein aage badhna hain toh daring to karna padega na darling (If you have to move forward in life, you will have to be daring.)”
Sharing the teaser on Instagram, Hansal Mehta wrote, “Life mein aage badhna hain toh daring to karna padega na darling! Here it is. Scam2003. One more @karanvyas11 gem. Directed by @tusharhiranandani. From yours truly with @applausesocial and @spnstudionext. Thank you @sameern for always giving these opportunities. Watch out for the brilliant @gagandevriar as Abdul Karim Telgi. Trailer out soon. Releasing on Sept 2, 2023.”
Gagan Dev Riar also shared the teaser on Instagram. “Khel bada tha, aur khiladi (the game was big and the player…!) The story of one of India's biggest scams by Abdul Karim Telgi, which shocked the nation with its unimaginable scale. Streaming on 2nd September, only on Sony LIV,” he captioned the post.
Filmmaker Hansal Mehta's last project Scoop, featuring Karishma Tanna, was a hit among the audiences. The Netflix release followed the story of journalist Jigna Vora who was sent to jail after being falsely accused in reporter Jyotirmoy Dey's murder case back in 2011.