Scam 1992, The Harshad Mehta story was aired on 9th October 2020 on OTT platform Sony Liv. Since then it has been receiving an overwhelming response (with IMDb rating 9.4) and soon it is tagged as Best Hindi Tv Series on the OTT platform in the recent past.
Well, there may be numerous factors behind such massive success, but let’s go through some noteworthy things that made it a special TvShow one shouldn’t miss out on. (If you have not seen it yet, don’t worry!! The plot will not be discussed.)
5. The Timeline Style Storytelling
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The storytelling follows the timeline concept from the initial struggle to the rise of Harshad Mehta and concludes towards the fall and it is supported by narration from Sucheta Dalal (Played by Shreya Dhanwanthary). Narrations are kept very short and to the point without extending it needlessly anywhere.
As the story runs back and forth, it is supported by Date or Year or Both specifics displayed on the screen. This keeps viewers engaged with the flow of the story. Important events that happened during that time are included wisely like Indira Gandhi’s assassination, the Riots of 1984, the famous Indian economic crisis of 1991, and the Nuclear tests of 1998.
4. Powerful Screenplay and Dialogues
The screenplay of the entire series is so powerful that no particular character feels weaker or stronger comparatively. Also it is carefully crafted keeping in view that a viewer who is not aware of Technical and Financial terms of the stock and money market also understands whats going on in the story. E.g. terms like “Bank Receipts” , “Subsidiary General Ledger” , “Public Debt Office” are carefully put within dialogues where it becomes self explanatory to the viewers.
Gujarati accent for Harshad Mehta and other characters and Hindi and Gujarati proverbs are used very wisely throughout the series which in turn add up in character building in the viewer’s mind.
(Also Read: All Gujarati proverbs & its meaning in Scam1992)
3. Old songs at End credits
At the end of each episode, A relative movie song (or Bhajan or Doha) is played with End credits which in turn gives viewers a whole different feel relatively as the Title Montage is a bit Modern and Graphical.
Here is the list of songs played at End credits:
- Episode 1: None
- Episode 2: Kaahe tu bin bajaye sapere (Movie: Saheli 1965)
- Episode 3: Tere naam ka sumiran karke (Bhajan)
- Episode 4: Yeh Zindagi hai ek Jua (Movie: Zindagi ek Jua 1992)
- Episode 5: Scam1992 Title Montage with little tweak
- Episode 6: Abhi aya nahi hai jo, Abhi aane wala hai jo (Movie: Vishwatma 1991)
- Episode 7: I am coming, You are going (Movie: Paap ki kamai 1990)
- Episode 8: Scam1992 Original background score
- Episode 9: Ek raaz hai mere seene mein (Zakhmo ka Hisaab 1993)
- Episdoe 10: Mat kar maya ko ahankar (Sant Kabir Doha)
2. Use of Actual Footage
The use of real footage from the 90s Era has been one of the most impressive things in Scam1992.
Actual Footages are used in many places like Showing Indira Gandhi Assassination news, Rajiv Gandhi Assassination news, Atal Bihari Bajpayee swearing in, Looks of Mumbai of the 90s era.
The most impressive moments though comes in Episode 09 ending where Reel and Real footage of Advocate Ram Jethmalani’s press conference are shown in a combined way which literally shocks viewers as the plot also reveals an unexpected event.
Also, Small video footage of Harshad Mehta’s real interview is shown at the conclusion of Episode 10 which works as a cherry on the pie.
1. Recreation of 90s Era
This is probably the most important aspect behind the success of Scam1992. Many things have been implemented for recreation of the 80s and 90s Era of Mumbai and may be observed as:
- Each episode begins with a birds-eye view (shot with a drone) of Mumbai along with the timestamp. This gives the viewer the feel of staying within Mumbai of that time.
- Surprise Appearances of Lt. Shri R K Laxman, the well-known cartoonist, and Rajdeep Sardesai as Editor in Times Of India office. An Interview of Harshad Mehta with Pritish Nandy is noteworthy.
- Small detailings at each location that will point to the old Era of 90s E.g. popular product hoardings of Binani Cement, Old model buses on road, Use Typewriter in offices, Old telephones in offices, Old generation computers in Banks, Old Television set (Showing Indira Gandhi Assassination News), Old Radio, Sucheta Dalal’s upgrade to a Mobile phone (receiving Harshad Mehta’s death news in 2001) and many more.
To Sum it up, The grand success of Scam1992 is a reflection of the hard work that Hansal Mehta & the team have done and Scam1992 will always mark its name whenever Best of Hindi Tvseries will be talked about.