Scam 2003 The Telgi Story Review (Part 1): The Sony LIV biographical thriller stars Gagan Dev Riar, Sana Amin Sheikh, Shashank Ketkar, Talat Aziz, Bharat Jadhav, Sameer Dharmadhikari, and others. Created by Hansal Mehta, the series is inspired by Sanjay Singh’s book Telgi Scam: Reporter’s Ki Diary. Written by Karan Vyas and Kiran Yadnyopavit, the new season is directed by Tushar Hiranandani. The review is based on the first five episodes.
Scam 2003 Review Contains No Spoiler
In 2020, when Scam 1992 was released, people couldn’t stop praising the Hansal Mehta show, Pratik Gandhi’s performance and the gigantic financial scam by Harshad Mehta. The show is cited as one of the must-watch Hindi series. The first season’s success encouraged Sony LIV and the makers to tell the viewers the story of another major scandal, The Stamp Paper Scam, aka Telgi Scam. The man behind the financial scam that cost Rs 30,000 crore was Abdul Karim Telgi.
In Scam 2003: The Telgi Story, Gagan Dev Riar plays Abdul Karim Telgi, a fruitseller turned counterfeiter who scammed banks, companies, government officers and others. In the first episode, we are shown the hardships of Telgi’s life. His family has to eat other people’s leftovers and live in a small house by the railway station in Khanapur. Life gives him an opportunity to go to Mumbai, where everything changes.
The story is told from Abdul Karim Telgi’s standpoint, as he is the show’s narrator. We learn that his first illegal business is selling fake passports. But when the cops discover his wrongdoings and arrest him, Telgi has to do something better and bigger to earn big bucks. The idea of making and selling counterfeit stamp paper comes to mind, and we see him turning his idea into a reality. It all begins in the year 1992!
Operating a counterfeit Stamp Paper scam is challenging, so in the first five episodes, we see several challenges and setbacks in his business. Abdul is mostly met with failures but gets up every time he slips. He has a way with words that not only with the cops but also the politicians. I understand the need to show Abdul full of himself and overconfident about his “business” idea. But it was odd to see him rarely affected by the hiccups in his work. Everything he wants happens smoothly and easily.
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Despite not achieving much success in the first few episodes, Abdul Karim Telgi is shown invincible. There were only 5 episodes available, and the first three are quite gripping. Episodes 4 and 5 hardly offer anything crucial until the end. The end of episode 5 is when something critical happens that might actually have negative consequences. But the makers decided not to continue the story anymore (for now).
It is hinted that Telgi’s activities will have an effect on his personal life too. It’s an interesting premise, and I can’t wait to see how his personal life turns upside down after everything that happens at the end of 5th episode. I hope the makers further highlight what were the ordeals his family had to face because of him.
Many people have been a part of Telgi’s journey to help him succeed in the counterfeit business. Sadly, the supporting cast that plays these characters rarely influences the story and Telgi’s life. Whether it’s the politician, played by Sameer Dharmadhikari, or an employee of Old Custom House, played by Bharat Jadhav, we don’t care about them until they appear on the screen.
As the story is told from Abdul Karim Telgi’s perspective, his character is in every shot. He’s talking a lot in every scene. I don’t know how the man was in real life, so viewers like me will depend on the show to give us an idea about the individual behind such a huge scam. But every time Telgi would give a monologue, boasting about his skills and plans but bringing very little into action, it felt like being cheated.
Actor Gagan Dev Riar shoulders the show by playing Abdul Karim Telgi. The actor has delivered a commendable performance so far. However, the writing is such that even though he’s there all the time on screen, Telgi still feels like a confusing puzzle.
Scam 2003 The Telgi Story Review (Part 1): Final Thoughts
The first three episodes keep one hooked to seeing how Telgi commences his journey of counterfeiting Stamp Paper. But by the 5th episode, we are not provided with any compelling assurance that he will be the cause of such a massive financial scandal. As it’s based on a true story, we know it happened. But the flimsy execution fails to convince us the same. This isn’t a show that needs to be divided into two parts if the storytelling in the first half is unfulfilling.
It would have been a thrilling experience to binge on all the episodes in one go!
The first 5 episodes are now streaming on SonyLIV.