Web Series Review: Scam 2003 – The Telgi Story Season 1

By Bollywood Hungama News Network -

September 1, 2023 - 1:56 PM IST

SCAM 2003 – THE TELGI STORY SEASON 1 is the story of one of the most notorious criminals of modern Indian history. The year is 1982. Abdul Karim Telgi (Gagan Dev Riar) sells fruits for a living on long-distance trains in Khanapur, Karnataka. He’s a smooth talker and one day, he bumps into Shaukat (Talat Aziz) while the latter is on his way to Bombay. Impressed by Abdul’s skills, he asks him to work with him in Bombay. Abdul arrives in the Maximum City and through his marketing and talking skills, he expands the business of Shaukat’s modest hotel, Moazzam Manzil. At his hotel, Abdul comes across Nafisa (Sana Amin Sheikh). Both fall in love and get married. They have a daughter, Zia. Soon, Abdul heads to a Gulf country and after living away from his family for 7 years, he returns to Bombay. Once he’s back, he starts a business of fake documents to help poor people emigrate to the Gulf countries. He soon gets arrested. In jail, he meets Kaushal Zaveri (Hemang Vyas) and befriends him. Once Abdul is out, he and Kaushal start selling dead share certificates fraudulently by removing the stamps. While doing this work, Abdul finds out that the stamp paper has far more value and can help him get rich overnight. In no time, he finds out that the stamp papers are manufactured in a government-owned press in Nashik. The papers reach Bombay at Wadi Bunder railway station with high security from where it’s sent throughout the country. Abdul is able to manufacture fake stamp papers. He then replaces them with real stamp papers when the train, carrying the stamp papers, is on its way to the yard, during which there’s no security. However, the challenges don’t end there. Abdul has to sell these papers in the market. In order to do so, he requires a vendor’s license. Getting the license is not easy and he has to grease the palms of many officials and politicians. Even then, he finds himself behind bars. What happens next forms the rest of the series.

Web Series Review: Scam 2003 – The Telgi Story Season 1

SCAM 2003 – THE TELGI STORY SEASON 1 produced by Applause Entertainment is adapted from the book 'Telgi Scam: Reporter Ki Diary' by Sanjay Singh. Kiran Yadnyopavit, Kedar Patankar and Karan Vyas' story is terrific. Like Hansal Mehta, this is also a scam that is mind-boggling but not many know about it. Hence, viewers will be taken aback how the scam was carried out. Kiran Yadnyopavit, Kedar Patankar and Karan Vyas' screenplay is well etched. The lead character and his journey are very well fleshed out. Also, a lot of research has gone into it and it shows. However, there are too many characters and it might get confusing for viewers at places. Karan Vyas' dialogues are clap worthy. There's no doubt that its one-liners will be quoted extensively in the days to come.

Tushar Hiranandani's direction is exemplary. His biggest challenge was to match up with the humongous expectations set by the predecessor, SCAM 1992 [2020]. Moreover, FARZI, which was released earlier this year, also had a similar premise. Yet, Tushar emerges triumphant. He keeps the narrative simple and captivating. He also makes an interesting comment about greed. A few scenes are highly memorable like Abdul getting his lawyer to pay his fees, Abdul's fight with Kaushal, Abdul's arrest in front of his family, Abdul being humiliated by Madhusudhan Mishra (Vivek Mishra), the 'I Love You' scene etc. The scene at the dance bar at the end of the fifth episode is quite dramatic.

On the flipside, the pace of the show drops in several places. There are times when nothing much is happening. And the biggest issue is that only 5 out of 10 episodes have been released for now. A huge section of viewers are bound to object to this decision as like SCAM 1992, one would have loved to see the whole series in one go.

Speaking of performances, Gagan Dev Riar is a great find. He gets totally into the skin of his character. He seems completely convincing as a morning who can smoothly get anyone on his side. Pratik Gandhi became a nationwide sensation after SCAM 1992. Here's hoping Gagan Dev Riar also follows suit. Sameer Dharmadhikari (Tukaram) is fine. Hemang Vyas shines and one wishes he had more to do in the second season. Bharat Jadhav (Durgesh Bharade) and Nandu Madhav (Inspector Madhukar Dombe) are dependable. Bhavana Balsawar (Garima Talpade) is fine. Vivek Mishra steals the show after Gagan Dev Riar. Sana Amin Sheikh is lovely. Talat Aziz performs ably. Nikhil Ratnaparkhi (Ganesh Kamble; lawyer) is very good but is hardly there. Shashank Ketkar (JK) delivers a great performance. Sachin Pilagonkar (More), Shaad Randhawa (Fahim Shaikh) and Bharat Dabholkar (Jadhav) do well and one hopes to see them more in the second season. The other actors who do well are the ones playing Abdul's mother Farida, Abdul's brother Salim, assistant stationmaster Sahebrao Kadam, Bapat and Chhatre. Casting director Mukesh Chhabra as the bar customer is superb. The bar dancer also leaves a mark, though she doesn’t have any dialogue.

Ishaan Chhabra's music is novel and very catchy. Achint Thakkar's legendary SCAM 1992 title theme is also played in this series, during the opening credits. Stanley Mudda's cinematography is appropriate. Madhusudhan N's production design is authentic. Arun J Chauhan's costumes are realistic. Kunal Walve's editing could have been sharper.

On the whole, SCAM 2003 – THE TELGI STORY SEASON 1 is highly entertaining and captivating and works thanks to the award-winning performance of Gagan Dev Riar, catchy background music and some well-written and well-executed scenes. However, the decision to release only five episodes for now might not be liked by a vast section of viewers.

Rating – 3.5 stars