Behind every great series is a sharp script. Sumit Purohit adapted Scam 1992 from the non-fiction book The Scam: Who Won, Who Lost, Who Got Away by journalists Sucheta Dalal and Debashis Basu.
Purohit’s screenplay broke down the complex mechanics of the 1992 securities scam into digestible, edge-of-the-seat episodes. He turned financial crime into a heist narrative. The iconic opening scene — where Harshad explains the stock market to a room of dull bureaucrats — was entirely Purohit’s creation, setting the tone for the entire series.
Scam 1992 was a runaway hit. It holds a 9.5/10 rating on IMDb (one of the highest for an Indian series) and won the Filmfare OTT Award for Best Series. Beyond the accolades, its impact was tangible. It triggered a massive surge of retail investors entering the Indian stock market in 2020-21. Young viewers, ironically inspired by the very man who cheated the system, started learning about mutual funds, IPOs, and technical analysis. scam 1992 the harshad mehta story season 1 co
The show also rehabilitated Harshad Mehta in public memory—not as a saint, but as a complex, tragic figure. It turned a dry financial crime into a compelling human drama about the price of wanting more.
Achint’s background score is the heartbeat of the show. The synth-heavy retro beats, combined with actual news clippings from the 90s (think Doordarshan static and old The Economic Times fonts), transport you back to the era of landlines, fax machines, and open-outcry trading. Behind every great series is a sharp script
Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story Season 1 is not just a show; it is a mirror reflecting the Indian dream—the desperate need to win at any cost. It is a cautionary tale about the "Greed is Good" ethos.
Rating: 5/5 Stars Where to watch: Sony LIV No discussion of the "co" (company and crew)
Have you watched Season 1? Do you think Harshad was a victim of the system or its biggest cheat? Let me know in the comments below!
No discussion of the "co" (company and crew) is complete without the captain of the ship. Hansal Mehta directed Scam 1992. Known for his gritty, realistic cinema (Shahid, Aligarh, Omerta), Mehta brought a unique energy to the financial thriller.
Mehta co-directed the series with Jai Mehta, who handled the technical precision. Hansal Mehta’s direction ensured that the stock market jargon — sensex, ready-forward deals, bank receipts — was not only understandable but genuinely thrilling. He famously shot much of the series in real locations across Mumbai, avoiding studio sets to preserve authenticity. His direction turned Harshad’s rise and fall into a Shakespearean tragedy.
In the pantheon of financial thrillers, few have captured the raw, dizzying energy of a market bubble and its catastrophic burst quite like Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story. Released in 2020 on Sony LIV during the lull of a global pandemic, the series unexpectedly became a cultural phenomenon. It wasn't just a show about stock markets and banking jargon; it was a Shakespearean tragedy set against the backdrop of India’s first major economic liberalization. Created by Hansal Mehta and directed by Jai Mehta, the series dissects the meteoric rise and dramatic fall of Harshad Mehta, the stockbroker who single-handedly manipulated India’s financial system, only to become its biggest scapegoat.
