Scam 1992 The Harshad Mehta Story : Review

Scam 1992 The Harshad Mehta Story is an Indian Drama Web Series directed by Hansal Mehta and Jai Mehta. The series' screenplay is written by Saurav Dey, Sumit Purohit, Vaibhav Vishal, and Karan Vyas. The series is adapted from journalist Sucheta Dalal and Debashish Basu's book The Scam: Who Won, who Lost, who Got Away. It stars Pratik Gandhi, Shreya Dhanwanthary, Hemant Kher, Anjali Barot, Chirag Vohra, Jay Upadhyay, K.K.Raina, Ananth Narayan Mahadevan, Nikhil Dwivedi, Shadaab Khan, Satish Kaushik, and Rajat Kapoor in the main roles. It was released on 9th October 2020 on Sony LIV. 

The story revolves around Harshad Mehta, played by Pratik Gandhi, a common man who always dreams big and this series showcases us his journey from being a jobber at the Bombay Stock Exchange in the '80s to becoming Amitabh Bachchan Of BSE in the '90s. The story primarily focuses on the Scam carried out by Harshad Mehta in which Rs. 500Cr went missing from the balance of the State Bank of India without any Bank Receipts and SGLs. 

The screenplay by Saurav Dey, Sumit Purohit, Vaibhav Vishal, and Karan Vyas is commendable. It'll be not wrong if I say they have done their research excellently. The series consists of 10 episodes and each 42-60 minutes long, and the series is so detailed that it's overwhelming and irresistible to watch. The series deals with the terminology and technicality related to Stock Market frequently and it can surely become tough sometimes, to get the groove of the show.

The series never shies away from mentioning the real name of the person or places, from showing the assassination of Indira Gandhi or mock Rajiv Gandhi as Pilot, and even from taking the name of former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao who took one crore from Harshad Mehta and smartly edited scene of the real footage calling this as a PV Narasimha Rao scam, the series is very bold. The makers didn't hesitate to show us even minute details. 

Hansal Mehta along with other makers has worked very hard and it's evident if you watch it. It captivates you from the beginning till the end and never derails a single minute from its original track. 

Pratik Gandhi as Harshad Mehta has done a phenomenal job. He's so perfect in every frame, you'll be in a dilemma that you're watching a documentary and he's real Harshad Mehta. Shreya Dhanwantary as Sucheta Dalal, a journalist and the financial editor of the TOI, is very confident and has done an excellent job. Hemant Kher as Ashwin Mehta, brother of Harshad, has given an effective performance, he's very believable as Harshad's supportive and caring brother. Some of the performances are worth mentioning, Rajat Kapoor as Madhavan, the leading officers of the team of CBI, stands his own and has given his best in short screen time. Nikhil Dwivedi as Tyagi, head of Citibank, and Shadaab Khan as Ajay Kedia, has lent good support. The Casting Director, Mukesh Chhabra, and his team have done their job exceptionally well casting these wonderful actors, especially casting Pratik Gandhi as Harshad Mehta. 

The Cinematography by Pratham Mehta is magnificent. The canvas looks very big and grand, and the music by Achint Thakkar is just another level of excellence, the background music, and the intro montage is just phenomenal. Production Design by Payal Ghose and Tarpan Srivastava is another aspect of this series that is truly a masterpiece. 

Directed by Hansal Mehta and Jai Mehta, Scam 1992 is very detailed and uncovers many secrets about the working of the Stock Markets and Money Markets and even of Banking Sectors. It never sugarcoats anything and dares to show the complexity of the character Harshad Mehta, by showing his human side too and not by doing his character assassination. The other government officials are also shown with great depth showcasing everyone's personal and professional lives simultaneously. The series has some of the great dialogues that are clap worthy. Expectations are very high now for The Big Bull movie starring Abhishek Bachchan, which also traces the story of Harshad Mehta, a stockbroker. Scam 1992 is very detailed, informative and an exceptionally made series that truly deserves your time. The series is now streaming on Sony LIV. 

Rating:- 4/5

Now streaming on Sony LIV.