Hansal Mehta, the man behind hard-hitting films like Shahid, Citylights, Aligarh and Omerta, now delves into the web space (after functioning as executive producer on the web series Bose: Dead/ Alive, starring his firm favourite Rajkummar Rao a few years ago) with Scam 1992. Now streaming on SonyLIV, the 10-episode series chronicles the life and times of stockbroker Harshad Mehta (played by Pratik Gandhi) and the daredevil financial scam he carried out in the ’90s that rocked the country. The Telegraph caught up with Hansal for a chat on the journey of bringing such an intriguing life to screen, the highs and hindrances of the longform narrative and his food and fitness experiences during the lockdown.
Harshad Mehta’s story is, of course, something that’s been calling out to be brought to screen. What were the triggers that made you want to make it into a web series and not a film?
I had read this book (The Scam: Who Won, who Lost, who Got Away, by Sucheta Dalal and Debashish Basu) many years ago, and at that time I was very keen on making it into a film... I am talking about 2005-06. But that did not happen. I moved on, I made films like Shahid and Aligarh, and a new journey began for me. In November 2017, Sameer Nair of Applause Entertainment (the producers of the show) called me and said he had bought the rights to this book and wanted to make it into a series. Coincidentally, at that time, I was looking to get into the longform format to tell a story, and I thought that this was a story very apt to delve into in greater depth and detail in the form of a series. I remembered the book inside out, and I felt that this was the ideal story for a web series.
It’s involved nearly three years of development, shooting and post-production... it’s been quite a feat. I’ve had a fantastic team of writers who have created a very detailed character study. The good thing is that it’s also compelling and entertaining.
How satisfying has it been to attempt this particular story in the long format?
Very, very satisfying. It’s like actually making about five films in one (laughs). It’s been a challenge, of course. The biggest challenge has been in the writing because we are still not naturally attuned to longform narratives. We didn’t have an HBO 20 years ago to help us to seriously get into this format. It’s been a learning curve for everyone. This has been quite a job. My writers have really excelled... their writing has given me the material to do this exploration.
Shahid to Aligarh, you’ve brought many real-life characters to life on screen. What was it like telling Harshad Mehta’s story?
As compared to films, this was more exploratory. The good thing about this story is that it’s set in a world I grew up in and I am familiar with. I am a Gujarati boy who grew up in a Gujarati family and I have the aspirations of a Mumbai born and bred Gujarati boy. All my friends used to deal in shares... I know this world quite well... the family, the aspiration. Just revisiting that time was in itself quite an experience. It was a joy.
Harshad Mehta’s story is not only one that talks about him as the perpetrator of one of the biggest financial crimes this country has ever seen. It’s also about the loopholes in the system that gave him these opportunities. And I don’t think that system has changed much... if anything, there are new regulations and new loopholes. It’s as much a tale of systemic rot as it is about Harshad Mehta and his fascinating journey.
I think our series is very relevant, it’s a cautionary tale about aspiration, ambition and the line between achievement and fraudulent acts... after a point, those lines start blurring. Your greed and ambition drives you to the point where you completely disrupt the system. You create a parallel ecosystem and start playing with lives. Tons of money is siphoned off, which is actually public money. And people do this kind of frauds for years... lakhs of crores have disappeared from the system over the years. Whose money is it? Yours and mine. The taxpayer, the depositer, the farmer... it’s their money....
When you tell the story of a character like this, is it tough to not be judgmental and how do you stop yourself from romanticising an enigma, something which The Wolf of Wall Street was perhaps guilty of doing in its depiction of Jordan Belfort?
It is tough, I’ll be honest. I did connect with Harshad Mehta and his roots. I don’t think I have romanticised him in any way, but I have definitely humanised him. The series says that you can arrest the man, you can’t arrest the system. My approach, even in my films, has always been to create a human story.
Will we now see you actively picking stories that will make you work in the longform format?
For me, it’s always the story... the medium comes second. Next year, I have commitments in both the short and the long formats, which only tells me that I will get busier (laughs). The longform definitely takes longer to develop and shoot... it’s a far more intricate and logistically taxing process. The shorter format is, of course, far more economical and efficient.
You spent the lockdown working on the post-production of Scam 1992. How has it otherwise been creatively over the last few months?
I was working on getting this show out. The working style was, of course, modified, thanks to the pandemic. We were all working remotely, and it’s an achievement that we have managed to get this show out. Creatively, it’s been a mixed bag. There are days when you feel very creative, and at other times you are so despondent that you find it a huge struggle to even get out of bed. I have been through both experiences in the last few months.
What has kept me anchored is that I got to spend time with family... the kind of time that I have never had before with them, especially in the last two years. I also made some time to work on my fitness. I also got a lot of time to cook, to try out many recipes. I have really experimented a lot in the kitchen. A farmer friend sent me some black rice recently and I made some paella with it. It was quite outstanding, even if I say so myself! (Laughs)
