In Scam 2003 - The Telgi Story, showrunner Hansal Mehta expands on journalist Sanjay Singh’s book Telgi Scam - Ek Reporter Ki Dairy to bring to life the crimes of the infamous stamp paper counterfeiter Abdul Karim Telgi. A follow-up to Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story, Scam 2003 is a five-part Volume 1 of a 10-episode series, directed by Tushar Hiranandani of Saand Ki Aankh fame, that captures the captivating rags-to-riches story of a con man but lacks the ambition, scale and storytelling prowess of its predecessor.

Here’s what to expect from the Sony LIV series starring Gagan Dev Riar as Abdul Karim Telgi, Hemang Vyas, Sana Amin Sheikh, Vivek Mishra, Bharat Yadav, Talat Aziz, Sameer Dharmadhikari and Nandu Madhav.

Abdul’s journey of becoming Telgi

Spanning two decades and set in sprawling Mumbai while roaming back and forth between Khanapur in Karnataka and Nashik in Maharashtra, Scam 2003 tells the story from the point of view of its protagonist.

It’s the tale of a Muslim man from Karnataka who discovers his talent in forgery when he comes to Mumbai and goes on to become the kingpin of a nationwide fake stamp paper racket.

We meet Abdul in Khanapur in 1982 when he’s selling fruits on train carriages wrapped in photocopies of his B.Com degree. We get a glimpse of his family’s living conditions and also the angst of an educated unemployed youth. Abdul shifts to Mumbai where he takes the job of a guest house manager before leaving for the Gulf. On his return after seven years, he starts counterfeiting documents and passports for migrant workers travelling to the Gulf. Soon after, Abdul is jailed for forging educational degrees for an aspiring labourer and he morphs into a manipulative con man who just wants to “make money instead of earning it’’. From then onwards, he is known only by his surname Telgi.

Telgi’s modus operandi

In prison, Telgi meets Kaushal (Hemang Vyas), who provides a platform for his newly discovered talent. After his release, Telgi begins to pilfer government stamp papers and replace them with cheaply produced fakes.

Telgi maintains he is not doing anything wrong but by now you have figured out his strategy. He dresses simply, has a friendly persona and wears a confiding grin that puts even the most wary stranger at rest. He is also clever enough to sprinkle his conversations with a smattering of English.

Aware that he cannot run such a complex operation on his own, Telgi begins to grease the palms of some influential people, gaining the trust of cops, attorneys, legislators, railway personnel, NGO workers and religious leaders. In Episode 4, there is an intriguing subplot about how he tries to bribe, fails and then successfully bribes an important government official at the Nashik press. Telgi is a man without the usual vices, but he gets into the pit hole after splashing cash on his favourite bar dancer in a fit of rage against a rich man in Episode 5.

Gagan Dev Riar plays Telgi with absolute conviction

Gagan Dev Riar — a veteran Marathi theatre actor and Hindi TV show lyricist — is a strikingly accurate recreation of the real Abdul Karim Telgi. He has those plump cheeks and eyes as well as the lopsided grin. It’s a fairly unglamorous depiction of a middle-aged con man who despises sophistication and class unless it fits his purposes.

Unlike Ganesh Gaitonde’s (played by Nawazuddin Siddiqui) sardonic narration in Sacred Games, Telgi’s voiceover in Scam 2003 is calm and self-absorbed. In this breakout role, Riar blends Telgi’s hunger for money with his frustrations, dubious morality. vulnerabilities and contempt for the powerful in equal measure.

Leaving the history behind

Scam 2003 lacks the sweep and scope of Scam 1992 despite seamlessly jumping from Mumbai to Nashik to New Delhi over the course of five episodes. The historical backdrop does not feel as grand or important in the writing.

We get a montage of the 1991 reforms followed by the Babri Masjid demolition a year later. All Telgi has to say about those volatile times is that it is inconvenient for his “business”. Telgi’s personal life isn’t explored either though he calls himself a “family man”. His wife Nafisa (played by Sana Amin Sheikh) is abruptly sidelined.

In the teaser for Volume 2 at the end of Episode 5, a clip of Telgi speaking to a politician and government officials over the phone and keeping a recording of the conversation as proof of their demand for a bribe teases a more detailed look at one of India’s biggest forgers. Telgi died in 2017. Volume 2 of Scam 2003 - The Telgi Story will stream on Sony LIV in November.