Bestselling book 'The Scam' based on the 1992 securities scam to be made into a web series

For the first time ever, the true story behind one of the most notorious scams of the Indian Stock Market shall be brought on screen by Applause Entertainment in a 10 part series. Sucheta Dalal and Debashis Basu’s ‘The Scam’ is one of the most thrilling non-fiction books ever written in India.

Helmed by entertainment veteran Sameer Nair, Applause Entertainment will be showcasing this white-collar crime story which took the country by storm. An ambitious man discovers a loophole in the system and achieves overnight success in the stock market. A woman gets on his tail and India’s biggest securities scam is exposed. 

This story of greed makes for a thrilling series of ambition and investigative journalism. An immediate bestseller after being published in April 1993, the book highlights the pervasive greed and misconduct of the financial world unearthed by Padma Shri award-winning journalist Sucheta Dalal. Converting this exposé into a visual format is going to make for a spellbinding story.

Sameer Nair, CEO, Applause Entertainment, commented on the development – “ ‘The Scam had me hooked from the start. We are thrilled to work with Sucheta and Debashis on adapting this book into a riveting drama series. With their active collaboration on the screenplay, it promises to be an edge of the seat D-Street drama. These are indeed exciting times for digital content.”

“It is uncanny how the banking system continues to be exploited through systemic loopholes. It was Harshad Mehta using fake BR in 1992. Now it is Nirav Modi using fake LoU. As if nothing has changed. We are very excited to collaborate with Applause Entertainment, and see the drama and excitement of 26 years ago, from an era when there were no cellphones or Internet, being recreated for the digital age," says Sucheta Dalal.

In addition to ‘The Scam’, Applause Entertainment 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 1st 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.