Scam 2003 teaser: Hansal Mehta finds the perfect actor to play Telgi in his Scam 1992 follow-up. Watch

Hansal Mehta has found the lead actor for his upcoming series Scam 2003: The Telgi Story. The series is a follow-up to Hansal’s 2020 hit Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story. In the new season, Hansal (as showrunner) and Tushar Hiranandani (as director), will tell the story of Abdul Karim Telgi, the stamp paper scam kingpin. (Also read: Scam 1992 The Harshad Mehta Story review: One of 2020’s best web series resurrects the raging bull of Dalal Street)

A new teaser for the upcoming series introduced fans to actor Gagan Dev Riar, who will essay Telgi. The teaser shows multiple pictures of him as Telgi and ends with a poster. Sharing the video, Hansal wrote on Instagram, “Telgi has been found. Presenting the very talented Gagan Dev Riar as Abdul Telgi. #Scam2003.” Mukesh Chhabra has been credited as the casting director.

Gagan has acted in films like Abhishek Chaubey’s Sonchiriya and Mira Nair’s A Suitable Boy. Many applauded the ‘perfect’ casting by Mukesh in the comments section of Hansal’s post. “Perfect casting jab se series announced hui me yahi soch raha tha kaun hain aisa actor jo aisa dikh bhi ske aur behtareen performance bhi de ske, Gagan Dev (Since the series was announced, I was wondering who could be the actor who looks like Telgi and can also perform well),” wrote a fan. “This actor! Finally Gagan bhai will receive his due,” wrote another person.

Scam 1992 starred Pratik Gandhi in the lead role of scammer and stock market mogul Harshad Mehta. He instantly became a fan favourite for his performance in the show.

Telgi was a fruit-seller born in Khanapur in Karnataka and became the mastermind behind one of the most ingenious scams in India. It is adapted from the Hindi book Reporter Ki Diary penned by journalist and news reporter Sanjay Singh, who is credited with breaking the story of the scam.