'Scam 2003: The Telgi Story' Review: What's Good, What's Bad

Tushar Hiranandani-directed 'Scam 2003: The Telgi Story' is a financial thriller which has hit the OTT platform on Friday.

The SonyLiv series draws its inspiration from Sanjay Singh's book 'Telgi Scam: Reporter's ki Diary', which revolves around the 2003 India Stamp Paper Counterfeiting incident led by Abdul Karim Telgi.

This instalment serves as the second entry in the Scam franchise, following Scam 1992. The cast includes Gagan Dev Riar in the lead role as Abdul Karim Telgi, alongside Mukesh Tiwari, Sana Amin Sheikh, Bharat Jadhav, and Shaad Randhawa in significant parts. The series made its debut on September 1, 2023, exclusively on SonyLIV.

It narrates the true story of Abdul Karim Telgi, a central figure in the INR 30,000 crore stamp paper counterfeiting scandal of 2003.

Telgi, hailing from an economically disadvantaged family in Khanapur, Karnataka, initially makes his living by selling fruits on trains. His life takes a turn when he accepts an offer from a stranger named Shaukat, portrayed by Talat Aziz, who invites him to Mumbai for employment.

In Mumbai, Shaukat owns a run-down guest house, and Telgi employs clever and cost-effective marketing strategies to fill its rooms. During this time, he also ties the knot with his employer's daughter, Nafisa, played by Sana Amin Sheikh, and temporarily takes on a job in the Gulf.

Upon his return, Telgi ventures into a business that involves sending individuals to the Gulf using counterfeit documents, eventually leading to his arrest.

While in jail, Telgi crosses paths with Kaushal Zaveri, portrayed by Vyas Hemang, who runs a minor scam involving the reuse of revenue stamps from rejected documents. This encounter ignites Telgi's inspiration to manufacture fake stamp papers, starting with pilfering them from official boxes leaving the government press in Nashik. Subsequently, he embarks on an astonishingly intricate scheme to produce counterfeit stamp papers.

What's Good, What's Bad: Find It Out From Netizens' Words:

Hetvi Shah: Not as good as 1992 scam...failed to live upto hype..was eagerly waiting for ths series to be released but such a disappointment it served lately..expectations were sky high...bt its just average...the main lead is just okish...pratik as harshad mehta seemed more real and convincing even the side roles in that scam were too good...after watching such i dont remember anyone bt only telgi...side roles are forgetable Since both stories are bracketed under the same franchise, comparisons are bound to happen.Using the original title theme of Scam 1992 created by Achint Thakkar, was a smart move as it immediately helps the audience recollect the brilliance of the first part, which in turn benefits the second installment in the franchise The show tends to lose its pace in the second and the third episodes, making the overall narrative far less engaging. Hiranandani has tried to fit in a lot of layers, and then explain many of them, which takes away from the charm of an interesting crime thriller Dialogue written by Karan Vyas is average, barring a few lines, and the cliffhanger at the end of the fifth episode is a weak narrative point to stop, as it does not really seem like an impossible or a hard hurdle for Abdul Karim Telgi to overcome in second part Gagan Dev Riar is phenomenal as Abdul Karim Telgi, and is bound to get a lot of applause for his convincing performance in Scam 2003

One can see the sincerity in his act, and the fact that he was really having a great time playing the character.Hansal Mehta had humanized the character of Harshad Mehta, which allowed the audience to connect to his journey, especially his mistakes. I missed that treatment in Abdul Karim Telgi's story. Totally average series nothing connectable sadly fails to impress in many directions One time watch

Just average series.If scam 1992 is Baap...this scam 2003 feels like adopted forced kid to enter the family..its that average..
5/10
watch with low expectations :)

Hina Fatima Khan: A story that left me amazed. Telgi was a genius, he knew how to mint money. His was a different world, the cast also fits very well into the characters that they're playing. I liked how Abdul Karim Telgi syncs up with other characters very well. The fresh face played by Yusuf Khan as Suleimaan, his dialogue delivery added more to the charm of this unique story. Direction being the key parameter, I'd say was to the point and focused on what had to be shown when the name Telgi comes. Overall, it's a paisa- vasool watch.

Pratik Jagdale: Salute to the director Hansal Mehta for bringing Telgi's story to the point and I am writing this review only after watching the first episode, I am yet to watch the remaining nine. I thought it would have done a lot of things to waste time but I really like this series for focusing more on the story at hand.
But at the end of such a web series, people who scam common man and run away with money, are shown as heroes through this web series. For that I am deducting one star from this review. Today's young generation should know at the end of the web series that these people are scamster after all.

Alok Ranjan Basu: Great, just great, Harshad Mehta did a social engineering so his character had a different charm, but Telgi is more like a cold hearted intelligent criminal, it's hard not to compare with Prateek Gandhi but Gagan Dev Riar did excellent in Telgi role