KOLKATA: In April 1992, mayhem hit the Indian financial sector as the nation woke up to the biggest stock market scam. So huge was its impact on Dalal Street that it led to structural changes in the financial security system of India with new reforms in stock trades. However, what remains untold is the story of the mastermind behind it. Scam 1992 – The Harshad Mehta Story, SonyLIV’s latest tentpole show, is about the charismatic stockbroker who orchestrated a previously unheard-of Rs 5,000-crore securities scandal.
Unravelling the man from the myth over the course of 10 nail-biting episodes, the show will drop on the OTT platform on 9 October. With it, SonyLIV is hoping to boost its subscriber base while fulfilling its promise to deliver more original content.
Produced by Applause Entertainment in association with Studio Next, this series is a financial crime thriller based on the bestseller book The Scam written by notable journalists Debashis Basu and Sucheta Dalal.
The series is a gripping tale of the meteoric rise and fall of the flamboyant big bull of the stock market – Harshad Mehta. Directed by national award-winning filmmaker Hansal Mehta, the series is led by Pratik Gandhi and Shreya Dhanwanthary along with an ensemble cast of Satish Kaushik, Sharib Hashmi, Anant Mahadevan, Nikhil Dwivedi, KK Raina and Lalit Parimoo, among others. The creative team comprises dialogue writers Sumit Purohit, Saurav Dey, Vaibhav Vishal and Karan Vyas.
Director Hansal Mehta said the story, or cautionary tale, is more relevant than ever in these troubled times where a new multi-billion dollar scam is uncovered every other day and the conmen responsible fly the coop with uncanny ease.
“This show gives you an intimate peek into the middle-class aspirations of a common man who rose from rags to riches while managing to subvert and deceive the banking system. It talks about what the system, if not mended, might make people do. The system doesn’t seem to have mended. There is scam on scam,” Mehta averred.
Having helmed films about complex socio-political issues, like Shahid starring Rajkummar Rao, and Manoj Bajpayee-led Aligarh, Mehta found the enormity of Scam 1992 to be a quite a unique challenge.
"I've told many true stories but to put this kind of long-form writing on screen was a huge challenge. It was perhaps the biggest, single largest challenge that I've had after making almost 15 feature films," he said.
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The makers spent over three years on the show to ensure absolute accuracy, from the script, to choice of actors, and the overall treatment.
“Scam 1992 – The Harshad Mehta Story reflects on a landmark event in the Indian stock market. The incident was integral in shaping India’s financial security systems and hence was a story waiting to be told,” Studio Next head Indranil Chakraborty said.
Applause Entertainment CEO Sameer Nair said that with Scam 1992, the company hopes to raise the bar of premium series in India in terms of creativity and production while staying true to the original source material.
