Meet Gagan Dev Riar, Actor Who Is Set To Play Abdul Karim Telgi In Hansal Mehta¡¯s Scam 2003

Filmmaker Hansal Mehta is back to captivate the audience with Scam 2003: The Telgi Story, another account of one of India's largest scams, after delivering a suspenseful tale of crime and drama with Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story.

The emergence of infamous counterfeiter Abdul Karim Telgi, who was accused of operating a false stamp paper business worth an astounding Rs 30,000 crore at the time of his arrest, is chronicled in Scam 2003.

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After being detained in 2006, Telgi received a harsh 30-year prison term.

Who Is Gagan Dev Riar?

Gagan Dev Riar is playing the part of Telgi in Scam 2003, which will air on Sony LIV on September 1.

Riar joined Scam 2003 with a sizable amount of theater-related work from India. He has spent the last 15 years acting, writing, and directing in Indian theater.

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Riar has performed in incredibly popular plays including Sunil Shanbag's "Stories In A Song" and Atul Kumar's "Piya Behrupiya." Later, he was chosen to appear in Mira Nair's "Monsoon Wedding" off-Broadway musical. Hansal Mehta first took notice of him when Mira later put him in her play "A Suitable Boy."

As per FJP, interestingly before Scam 2003 he was slated to play a bank manager in Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story, but owing to scheduling conflicts, he was unable to sign the show.

Who Was Abdul Karim Telgi?

Born and bred in a poor Karnataka family, Telgi transitioned from being a fruit vendor to a prominent scam artist in 1956. His scandal involving phony stamp sheets rocked India in the early 2000s. It was a unique fraudulent plan that fundamentally changed the nation's financial system.

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In 2001, the scam was finally exposed, and Telgi's empire began to fall apart. After being accused with fraud, forgery, and several other felonies, he was given a 30-year prison sentence. In 2017, he passed away there.

The upcoming release will also detail how Abdul met Ram Ratan Soni while he was in jail¡ªa stamp vendor serving time for allegedly forging share paperwork. Abdul's interest in the stock market was piqued by Soni, Abdul started making false stamp papers with Soni's help. He purchased outdated printing equipment from Nashik Security Press in order to print stamp papers.

Gagan Talks About Putting On Weight

To strike a resemblance with Telgi, Gagan had to put on over 18 kgs of weight.

Speaking to ANI, Gagan said, ¡°The most challenging part of the shoot was my physical transformation. I had to gain 18-20 kgs of weight to appear more authentic like Telgi on screen. I was under the nutritionist¡¯s guidance. I had to take five meals per day despite the fact that I am not at all a foodie. However, I managed. It was not easy to maintain one look for one whole year and to follow the diet irrespective of fluctuating shooting schedules. Hope audience will like my performance.¡±

Talking about the new season, Hansal Mehta said as per PTI, ¡°It¡¯s a completely fresh take with a new director, who is executing it with his own vision, ability and we have a new actor, who¡¯s another sensational find. So there¡¯s a lot of new things to look forward to. It has a new story, part of this amazing franchise¡±.

Scam 2003 will depict Abdul Karim Telgi's ascent and decline. Telgi initially made counterfeit passports before switching to making bogus official stamp sheets.

Many people, including employees of banks, insurance companies, stock brokerage businesses, law enforcement officials, and politicians, were implicated in his scam.

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