Scam 1992: Harshad Mehta Story mini-series is a good way to understand the stock-market manipulation in India. It is a true tale of Harshad Mehta, an infamous stockbroker.
An infamous bull Harshad contravened all rules and regulations in the financial market and the banking industry to manipulate the stock prices to make a huge pile of money, in the 1980s and 1990s in India. This 2020 show offers an insight into how some person (s) can manipulate stock prices. Thereby offering us a good life and stock market lessons.
Synopsis (official summary) of this 2020 mini-series about an infamous stock broker
‘Scam’ is about the major scandals that shook India and are remembered as some of the most notorious crimes in the country. Set in the 1980s and 90’s Bombay, Scam 1992 follows the life of Harshad Mehta – the infamous “Bachchan of BSE”.
It was a rags-to-riches story till financial journalist Sucheta Dalal exposed Harshad as the man behind India’s biggest financial scam. After his arrest, the stock market crashed and countless Indians lost all savings. For the first time, the CBI was compelled to launch an investigation into a financial crime. A corrupt financial system was revealed. Harshad eventually died in custody.
Spoiler-free review of Scam 1992 The Harshad Mehta Story
This 2020 series is based on a book
The story of this series is based on ‘The Scam: Who Won, Who Lost, Who Got Away‘ book. Debhasis Basu and Sucheta Dalal have written this non-fictional book. So, in this book, you will find that the scam includes not only the original Harshad Mehta Scam tales but also the Ketan Parekh Scam stories, while also delving into the JPC Fiasco and the Global Trust Bank Scam.
In 2023, the recent case of a foreign report about a leading Indian corporate house in India, however, once again raises questions about auditing, financial irregularities, stock manipulations, etc. in the country.
It offers us insight into stock price manipulation
So, we decided to once again re-watch this limited mini-series that depicts the incredible rise and shocking fall of Harshad Mehta in an eye-opening biography. We get to learn about the structural inadequacies and frailties in India’s financial system, especially the stock markets of his period in the 1990s. India was tentatively taking steps to open up the Indian economy and integrate its financial markets with that of the leading stock markets of the world.
Since then, many positive changes have taken place in the financial market as well as corporate governance. Still, the recent foreign report by an investment research firm brought the focus back to the stock market. The said short-selling activists brought quite an upheaval in the stock market of India. Consequently, it adversely affected many ordinary stock-market investors operating in the stock market. As of now., the authorities are still carrying out their investigation into this stock-market ( financial ) incident in India.
Kudos to filmmaker Hansal Mehta and the conclusion
While watching Scam 1992, one has to admire its filmmaker Hansal Mehta, who painstakingly recreated the India of the 1980s and 1990s. Led by the lead character Pratik Gandhi (plays Harshad Mehta), the ensemble cast has done praiseworthy acting jobs to bring some real-life characters to the screen.
actor Pratik Gandhi has played the role of Harshad Mehta admirably. He did an amazing act and looked natural while playing a Gujarati stockbroker. Not to forget, actress Shreya Dhanwanthary also performed impressively. So, we have shared two videos here, to enable you all to take a peek into this well-made show. We loved the peppy title music of the show, which set the mood of its complex tale.
The stock market and financial world is a complex world but this limited series has made it easier to understand the intricacies and complexities of the financial scam.
In case, you are interested in the financial market of India, then we think, it is a good show for you. So, go ahead, watch it or re-watch this well-made show.
Ratings of this 2020 mini-series about an infamous stock broker
| FM’s rating | 4.50/5 |
Poster of the Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story
Key details about this 2020 mini-series about an infamous stock broker
| Genre | Crime, Drama, Thriller, Biography |
| Age-Certification | A (18+) |
| Writers | Sumit Purohit, Saurav Dey, Vaibhav Vishal, Karan Vyas |
| Director | Hansal Mehta |
| Season & Episodes | Season One (1) – Episodes (10) – October 2020 |
| Cast | Pratik Gandhi, Shreya Dhanwanthary, Sharib Hashmi, Hemant Kher, Chirag Vohra, Faisal Rashid, Nikhil Dwivedi, Satish Kaushik, Jay Upadhyay, Rajat Kapoor, Anant Mahadevan, etc. |
| Taglines | The Harshad Mehta story. |
Trailer of the Scam 1992 The Harshad Mehta Story
Focus:- four real people shown in the Scam 1992 show
- The character of “Maheshwari” is based on Radhakishan Damani, the founder of the supermarket chain DMart. He left the stock market in around 2000. He is played by the actor Paresh Ganatra in the show.
- Actor Shadaab Khan plays the character of “Ajay Kedia”, who is based on Ajay Kayan. He is the person who along with his father, Gouri Shankar Kayan, managed the Kolkata-based stock broking firm C. Mackertich.
- The character of Tyagi is based on A. S. Thiyagarajan. He was the Area Head of Citi Bank during the time the show was set in. This character is played by actor Nikhil Dwivedi.
- Not to forget the Indian businessman and stock-market investor (late) Rakesh Jhunjhunwala. His character was played by actor Kavin Dave.
Best dialogues of this 2020 mini-series about an infamous stock broker
Awards won by this 2020 mini-series about an infamous stock broker
| Filmfare OTT Awards | Pratik Gandhi – 2021 Winner Popular Award Best Actor – Drama Hansal Mehta & Jai Mehta – 2021 Winner Popular Award Best Director Drama – 2021 Winner Popular Award Best Series |
| Critics’ Choice Shorts and Series Awards, India | Hansal Mehta – 2021 Winner Series Award Best Series Pratik Gandhi – 2021 Winner Series Award Best Actor Sumit Purohit, Saurav Dey, Vaibhav Vishal, & Karan Vyas – 2021 Winner Series Award Best Writing |
| Indian Film and Television Awards | Hansal Mehta – 2021 Winner OTT Award Best Web – Series Pratik Gandhi – 2021 Winner OTT Award Best Actor in a Series – Shreya Dhanwanthary – 2021 Winner OTT Award Best Actress in a Series – |
If you like limited series about ‘corporate greed’ then do check out the ‘Dopesick‘ show from the USA.
Featured & Other Images:- Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story | Sony LIV.