Scam 2003: Gagan Dev Riar Cast in Lead as Abdul Karim Telgi; Directors Announced for SonyLIV Series

Gagan Dev Riar has been roped in to play the lead role in Scam 2003: The Telgi Story, SonyLIV announced on Tuesday.

Hansal Mehta, who delivered the critically-acclaimed first part Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story, will serve as the showrunner and direct alongside Tushar Hiranandani.

Scam 2003: The Telgi Story, produced by Applause Entertainment in association with StudioNext, will tackle the 2003 Stamp Paper fraud by Abdul Karim Telgi.

Gagan, who has acted in films like Sonchiriya and Netflix series A Suitable Boy, will be essaying the role of Telgi.

Applause Entertainment announced Gagan's casting in a clip shared on its official Twitter page.

“Telgi has been found. Starring Gagan Dev Riar as Telgi, produced by Applause Entertainment in association with StudioNext, Scam 2003: The Telgi Story will be helmed by showrunner Hansal Mehta and director Tushar Hiranandani. Casting by Mukesh Chhabra. Streaming Soon, only on @sonylivindia #Scam2003,” the post read.

The new season will chronicle the life of Telgi, a fruit-seller born in Khanapur in the Indian state of Karnataka, and his journey to becoming the mastermind behind one of the most ingenious scams in India.

Scam 2003: The Telgi Story 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.