A student at heart: Scam 2003’s Gagandev Riar on life before and after stardom

Life me niche se upar challang marni ho to daring to karna padega na darling… (If you want to jump from one place to another in life, you have to be daring)

While these words may have been spoken by one of India’s infamous fraudsters Abdul Karim Telgi in Scam 2003 - The Telgi Story, the actor behind Telgi, Gagandev Riar’s journey has had a similar jump start.

He started his acting career at the age of 16 when he first joined the Ashok Kumar Academy of Dramatic Arts and later Ruparel College in Mumbai.

Here, he found the love of his life—theatre.

“I was introduced to the world of theatre. All the exercises, theatre rehearsals, how theatre is a community and everyone works equally. Even if you are an actor, it’s not like you cannot do costumes or music or other departments. I got to learn how every department works,” Gagan tells YS Life.

Interestingly, at a time when the aspirations of middle-class Indian parents revolved around making their children pursue careers in medical, engineering, or civil services, Gagan’s father encouraged him to join the theatre.

From working with director Nirmal Pandey, Om Katare of Yatri theatre group, Sunil Shanbag’s Stories in a Song, to Atul Kumar’s Piya Behrupiya—based on William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night—Gagan, now 43, continued to hone his skills.

“Piya Behrupiya got me international exposure. We performed in China, Korea, Canada, Chile…It got me to understand the audience and actors' relationship internationally as we performed in different countries.”

However, his big break came when Mira Nair spotted him and cast him in her Monsoon Wedding Musical in 2017. In between, he also worked in Abhishek Chaubey’s Sonchiriya (2019), and in Netflix’s The Suitable Boy (2020), directed by Nair.

“Hansal Mehta spotted me there (in The Suitable Boy), and he thought I’d be suitable for Scam 2003,” he recalls.

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Scam 2003 - Season 2: Telgi’s fall makes a story worth completing, if not bingeing

The Scam Story

While Scam 2003 hit our TV screens in September 2023, for Gagan, the process started during the COVID-19 outbreak. He was aware of the impact Scam 1992 created for the Indian audience and was shocked to know that the creators wanted Gagan to play the role of Telgi.

In early 2021, he was approached by casting director Mukesh Chhabra for the lead role of Telgi. “I prepared for my audition… my first two scenes were okayed, and one scene was not. Mukesh Chhabra told me that we want to see the magic you do in theatres, and we want that kind of effect.” The second audition went well, and while Mukesh had selected him for the part, he still had to get the approval of the showrunner, Hansal Mehta.

He adds, “Before I could reach home, I got a call from him, and he said I am taking Hansal Mehta on call, who spoke to me and said, ‘Gagan you are locked for the part’.”

For Gagan—who calls himself ‘not a foodie and doesn’t have a sweet tooth’—the real challenge started now. He had to gain weight to play Telgi. From eating only simple food, he had to shift to a diet regime where he had to eat five meals a day.

“My nutritionist gave me a chart, where I had to eat six eggs omelettes with four breads and butter; shakes with oats, ice cream, dates, and almonds. I also had to eat triple the size of my lunch,” he recalls.

Gagan was having a regular person’s “cheat meal” on a regular basis, but he says that his cheat days were when he did not eat any meals.

“It was weight and wait for me,” Gagan says, as he had to wait for a year from April 2021 to April 2022 for the show to develop in the meantime.

With limited source material available, Gagan watched short interviews covered in a three-part documentary by Discovery called Money Mafias, studied photographs, and imagined how Telgi would have been in real life.

Helping him in the preparation was the show’s costume and make-up department and the vision of director Tushar Hiranandani and showrunner Mehta. In fact, Gagan visited Khanapur in Belagavi, Karnataka—the birthplace of Telgi—to familiarise himself with the accent by speaking to locals and recording them. “We mixed that accent to make it a little more palatable for audience pan-India.”

Unlike The Suitable Boy, which was shot over 30-35 days, Scam took a year to be shot and completed, of which Gagan shot for over 90 days, adding that theatre prepared him for this long shoot schedule—how to maintain continuity.

He explains, “Like one scene I had done in March and the continuity of the scene I am shooting in September… to be able to connect the emotions, gestures, and body language… how did you play it at that time, what was the tonality, and to keep that awareness about it was the most challenging part.” 

What’s in store next?

Gagan says at present, he has no plans. “Actually, till today, whatever roles I have got—theatre, films, or series—I didn't choose the script; the script chose me. So, it was very easy… Now, after Scam when I am getting too many offers, I have to make that selection, and I am so bad at it… This will be a true test for me.”

“Being an underdog is such a privilege. When nothing was expected of me, I would work without the fear of failure. Suddenly now, when things are expected of me, I feel I shouldn’t offend somebody… I just want to do a good role,” he adds.

Gagan has decided to stay true to himself. He leads a simple life, has simple meals, and takes either an auto, an Uber or walks to go everywhere—whether it is to work or award ceremonies.

“If I have a car, I have to learn to drive or keep a driver… and I have to worry about maintaining the vehicle… and if I do this, when will I have the time to act?” he quips.

Surprisingly, Gagan says he doesn’t have any insurance, adding “I have enough to eat, sleep, wear… that’s enough for me.”

After wrapping up the show, Gagan is basking in its glory and enjoying his downtime. In his free time, he “plans” to work out but has not been able to do it. He laughs when he says, “I should at least look like an actor, and be presentable when I go out.”

Although he has shot to stardom with Scam 2003, Gagan remains grounded. He still seeks out directors, especially theatre directors, for any roles, even if they are for smaller parts. 

He also loves to read comics and watch web series. He recently completed All the Light We Cannot See and Blue Eye Samurai on Netflix.

He also calls himself an “avid gamer” and plays video games on his PS5. At present, he is playing Far Cry 6 and recently finished Red Dead Redemption. In fact, he also hosted a podcast related to video games.

“I play games to keep my mind active. It gives me problems to solve. In acting too, 90% of it is about awareness, and gaming helps me stay aware.”

When asked if he sees himself as an artist or a superstar post Scam 2003, Gagan replies saying, he is neither. He considers himself a student. “I just want to see, learn, observe.”