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, showrunner Hansal Mehta returned in 2023 with a new chapter in India’s history of financial fraud: Scam 2003: The Telgi Story . Directed by Tushar Hiranandani and streaming on
The series begins in pre-liberalized India. We see Telgi (played masterfully by Pratik Gandhi) as a small-time fruit seller, a failed businessman, and a desperate man trying to get rich quick. After a failed trip to Saudi Arabia where he loses his eyesight temporarily in a bus accident, Telgi returns to India with one lesson: the system is broken, and the only way to win is to break it further. Scam 2003 The Telgi Story -2023- Web Series
The series traces the life of Abdul Karim Telgi (played by Gagan Dev Riar), starting from his humble beginnings selling fruit at Khanapur railway station. , showrunner Hansal Mehta returned in 2023 with
However, the screenplay has a pacing problem. The first three episodes are a masterclass in tension building. But episodes 4 through 6 suffer from "mid-season fatigue," relying too heavily on repetitive scenes of money counting and police raids. The series picks up momentum again in the final two episodes, leading to Telgi’s inevitable arrest and the trial that exposed the system. After a failed trip to Saudi Arabia where
Where the show excels is in its depiction of the "ripple effect." It accurately shows how Telgi recruited unemployed youth and truck drivers, turning them into couriers of fake stamps. The 2023 series also bravely tackles the political nexus, naming specific parties (fictionalized slightly) that protected Telgi until the heat became too much.
