Theatre actor Gagan Riar turns infamous stamp counterfeiter Abdul Karim Telgi, who masterminded a scam worth a whopping Rs 30,000 crore, in the trailer of Hansal Mehta’s biographical thriller series Scam 2003 - The Telgi Story, set to stream on SonyLIV from September 1.

The one-minute-40-second-long trailer, dropped by the makers on Tuesday, opens with voice-over of different characters talking about the elusive Telgi, described as a “snake” and a very “smart” man. Telgi gets a hero’s introduction in the video. “You understand the language of the law, I understand the language of profit,” he says.

The clip then shows his rise from printing the first fake stamp to dealing with big-shot politicians. It then shows law-enforcement agencies’ efforts to expose the scam and nab Telgi. The video ends with Telgi speaking to a politician over the phone and keeping a recording of the conversation as proof of the politician’s demand for a bribe.

“The story of India's Biggest stamp paper scam and the man behind it - Abdul Karim Telgi! Scam 2003 - The Telgi Story, streaming on 1st September”, wrote Sony LIV on X (previously Twitter) with the trailer.

Helmed by Hansal Mehta and Tushar Hiranandani, Scam 2003 – The Telgi Story has been adapted from the Hindi book Reporter ki Diary by journalist Sanjay Singh, who broke the scam. Acclaimed Marathi writer Kiran Yadnyopavit has also developed the show along with Singh.

The official logline of the upcoming series reads, “The story of one of India’s biggest scams by Abdul Karim Telgi, which shocked the nation with its unimaginable scale.”

Produced by Applause Entertainment in association with StudioNEXT, Scam 2003 – The Telgi Story will be streaming on SonyLIV from September 1.