After Scam’s blockbuster success in 1992, Hansal Mehta will return for the next season. The series, tentatively titled “Fraud 2003: The Curious Case of Abdul Karim Telgi”, will explore the life of Abdul Karim Telgi, who made a fortune printing counterfeit postage stamp paper.
The series promises to be a fascinating watch that will record the rise and fall of the Khanapur man in Karnataka and the way he committed one of India’s most ingenious scams in several states. The fraud value is said to be a whopping Rs. 20,000 crores. While the writing team is working on the script, the makers will soon announce the cast. The show will hit the ground at the end of the year and be released on SonyLIV in 2022.
Scam 2003 is adapted from the Hindi book ‘Reporter ki Diary’ written by the journalist Sanjay Singh who broke the scam at the time. Acclaimed Marathi writer Kiran Yadnyopavit was also hired to co-develop the show with Singh. Interestingly, a web series on the same topic – Paper with Rohit Bose Roy, was published on Ullu last year.
Hansal Mehta, known for directing acclaimed films such as Aligarh, Omerta and National Award-winning Shahid, said he is thrilled to be back with the team to lead another “scam” story. In a statement, the filmmaker said: “I am delighted to discover yet another fascinating story after the immense success of Scam 1992. The new season of this franchise will focus on another exciting story that rocked the country a few years ago. the stamp paper fraud. “
💥 Fraud Alert! 💥
We are excited to announce the second season of our popular “Scam” franchise, “Scam 2003: The Curious Case of Abdul Karim Telgi”. pic.twitter.com/p0hPitrYGd– Applause Entertainment (@ApplauseSocial) March 4, 2021
Sameer Nair, CEO of Applause Entertainment, which will fund the web show, added that Scam helped them lay a solid foundation for the “Scam” franchise in 1992. And now the team wants to share stories about the various scams the country has experienced over the years. “The 1992 success of Scam confirmed our belief in the audience’s interest in such stories. We are very excited to announce “The Telgi Story” as the next season. We see great potential in this story and are very excited to be working with StudioNEXT, SonyLIV and Hansal Mehta again to advance this franchise, ”added Nair.
Based on the book by journalist Sucheta Dalal, Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story was one of the biggest successes of the last year on the digital medium. It was staged jointly by Hansal and son Jai Mehta. With Pratik Gandhi and Shreya DhanwantharyThe series dealt with the life of the stockbroker Harshad Mehta. Aside from the tight plot, the star cast’s performance received praise from both viewers and critics. Even his music became hugely popular as a lot of viral videos were recreated on the title track. The show and its actors have recently received numerous awards at various events.
Who Was Abdul Karim Telgi?
Telgi was born in a small town in Karnataka to government employees who worked for Indian Railways. After his father died, Telgi took odd jobs and eventually moved to Saudi Arabia.
When he returned, he tried his hand at the counterfeit business and initially limited his business to manufacturing forged passports. With a shortage of postage stamps and postage paper to handle various legal papers, Telgi found an opportunity and focused on making counterfeit postage stamp paper.
The first case was filed against Telgi in 1991 and then in 1995, but was never investigated. His golden run ended in 2001 when he was arrested by Karnataka police.
In 2003, much to the embarrassment of the Mumbai police, police officers were celebrated with police officers at his home in Colaba instead of taking Telgi to the criminal investigation department. A SIT submitted its report in April 2003.
In 2007 Telgi was convicted of fraud and sentenced to 30 years in prison and a fine of 202 rupees. He later died of multiple organ failure.
