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This Twitter Banter Might Just Get Us The First Ever Web Series On The Harshad Mehta Scam!

byJinal Bhatt
19th February 2018
3 minute read

Even as the embers of Vijay Mallya’s Rs. 9000-crore loan default case continue to burn, there comes news of another billion-dollar scam by jeweller Nirav Modi to shake our very foundation. These scams don’t just mortally wound the nation’s economy but also mar its reputation.

That being said, what goes on in the lives and minds of the people committing these scams is quite an intriguing subject to explore.

Movies like The Wolf of Wall Street and The Big Short have been phenomenal success. Even Billions, the American television drama on financial crimes, was a huge audience puller.

And, if a recent Twitter conversation is any indication, we might pretty soon get to see one of the biggest scams to rock Indian markets come to life in the form of a web series!

It’s amazing how all it takes is a single act to set in motion a series of interesting events! This one began with a tweet from Sameer Nair of Applause Entertainment, about an interesting book that he just couldn’t put down.

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ICYMI, The Scam by Sucheta Dalal and Debhasis Basu, chronicles some of the most famous scams in the Indian stock markets, including the Harshad Mehta scam of 1992. An instant bestseller when it released in 1993, the book is currently in its eight edition.

Author Sucheta Dalal was quick to express her gratitude to Nair with a tweet in return, and it seemed like the start of an interesting conversation!

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Remember what I said about scam and scandal stories selling like hot cakes? Well, looks like Nair had a similar notion running through his mind….

I totally second that!

The Rs. 4999-crore Harshad Mehta scam in 1992 was one of the biggest financial crimes to rock the Indian stock market, and exposed the shortcomings and loopholes in the Indian banking system and the Stock Exchange. Mehta’s trial went on for 9 years, until his death in 2001.

It would be so interesting to know how it all went down, right?

And what do you know, great minds think alike, I guess, because author Sucheta Dalal was on the same page!

Okay so far, so good. Right? But wait, this is where things got really interesting!

Sameer Nair’s next tweet hinted at a possible ‘applause-worthy’ collaboration being on the cards! Wait for it!

OMG you guys! If this is true, this could be huge! Of course nobody was more excited to hear about this than Sucheta Dalal herself!

Can I just say her ‘Robert Vadra’ impression here is on point!

So are we!

While it all seemed just fun banter until now, Nair’s final tweet pretty much seals the deal!

Oh, I’ll say cheers to that!

Now that one of the authors was on board, it was time to get the second co-author (and Sucheta Dalal’s husband) Debashis Basu, on board as well!

And guess what? After a little mocking, he too was all set to jump on the bandwagon!

Indeed, that was fast!

Okay folks, it looks like we have a deal!

It’s actually happening, you guys! They just struck a deal and on Twitter nonetheless!

As someone who would love watching a good financial drama, this comes as a rather big news that I am totally rooting for. Until now, we’ve only had fleeting glimpses of the Harshad Mehta scam in Bollywood and Indian television. But this would be the first ever attempt since Dalal’s book to full-fledgedly showcase the scam in its entirety.

In addition to The Scam, Applause Entertainment (an Aditya Birla Group venture) has also partnered with international powerhouse BBC Worldwide to produce the Indian version of two of their popular shows, The Office and Criminal Justice, has acquired the rights of the first chapter of the bestselling book India’s Most Fearless and is also in process of making a political drama series called City of Dreams with Nagesh Kukunoor.

Here’s hoping this actually happens! *fingers crossed*

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