Exclusive: Gagan Dev Riar opens up about stepping into the shoes of Abdul Karim Telgi and more

After an incredible run in the OTT space, Hansal Mehta is back with his latest outing. Helming this project is Gagan Dev Riar, an experienced theatre actor with a lot of gusto. Scam 2003: The Telgi Story is based on true events and traces Abdul Karim Telgi’s rise from fruit seller to kingpin of the stamp paper scam. Fueled by greed, Telgi dominates the stamp paper market through corruption while carefully maintaining a low profile. Gagan Dev Riar opens up about essaying a scammer, working with Hansal Mehta, and more in an exclusive interview with Filmfare. Excerpts:

Your look as Abdul Karim Telgi is incredibly accurate to that of the character; what went into the process of creating that look?

I had to eat a lot. That was the main thing, but yes, we did some research on the Internet about how the walk would be or how the body language should be. Normally, I couldn’t get much detail about him on the Internet. Because there were very few videos, I did not know how he talks or walks, but I saw many photographs, and then I linked them together in my mind to kind of build a structure around it, and I just think that it works. People are saying that it’s looking good, so hopefully yes.

How different is it to portray a real character as opposed to playing a fictional one?

Earlier, when I got the role, I was under a lot of pressure thinking about that. If it’s a biopic and it’s a real-life character, then how close or how real do I need to be to that character, the real person? But I was guided very beautifully by Hansal Sir and Tushar, Sir. And they told me, “See, it’s not about looking or walking, or talking like the real person, but getting the intent of the story right. So if you concentrate on that, nobody’s going to ask you what he really walked or talked like because the main point of the story is to tell his human side and tell the other side, which people do not know other than the news items that we have read.” So then I concentrated on that, and then it became a little easier for me to portray him.

These stories about scams are very technical and require a lot of understanding. How did you go about that research?

Actually, I did not have to do that research myself. Fortunately, the writers did their research very thoroughly. And so what I did was just completely trust the script. Even though I could not understand it, I’m very bad at understanding things like what stamp papers are because, as you know, it’s normal for people like us. It’s very difficult to understand all these details about what the taxation system is, what the codes are, and everything else. So I was also very confused at first, but when I read the entire script, it was so nicely explained in the script that I did not have to go to any other medium to get my knowledge, and I hope that other people will also come to understand these things once they watch the show.

Do you think your experience in theatre has helped you take on characters on camera, and how different is the entire process?

Yes, definitely. Theatre is something that I will definitely go to whenever I am in doubt as an actor. So the theatre experience always helps you, no matter which medium it is. My experience in theatre, whatever I did in the past, has helped me to play this character. The only difference I will say is, for me personally, that in theatre you have a live audience, and whatever you are doing, you immediately know whether you’re going right or wrong. There is an audience giving reactions right there. In film, it is a little confusing for me personally. I have done something, and I don’t know whether it has gone where it has gone. So I did something like one year ago, and now I’m going to get to know whether I did the right thing or not after one year. So I think that’s the only difference. Otherwise, when you start acting, The camera becomes the audience, and the audience becomes the camera, so it’s vice versa, so there’s really no difference.

Since the first part of the show was such a hit, did you have any sort of pressure for this one?

Normally, I am the kind of actor who thinks that we are all different. We all have our own way of portraying the character. I mean, this Telgi could have been given to somebody else, and they might also have done an amazing job interpreting it in a different way or in their own way. So I don’t feel that pressure. I think Pratik Gandhi did a fabulous job as Harshad Mehta. But he was playing Harshad Mehta, and I’m not playing Harshad Mehta, so I don’t think there is a comparison. I’m playing a different character, so we both have different actors, and he did a marvellous job at that. And I just hope that people think that I’ve done a good job with this one.

How was it working with Hansal Mehta?

He is a great director. I think the best way to describe his whole persona would be simple and effective. He keeps it simple, and he keeps it effective. Every time I was confused or every time I was going in a direction that I should not have, he guided me, and he guided me with very simple little things that sometimes we forget, even during acting, like, you know, as an actor. You try to get into the greatness of the role, and you try to get into this whole grinding yourself and suffering of it, and he said there is no need to do that. Just keep it simple. Just do your lines. Come prepared. I’ll tell you what to do. Just keep doing it one step at a time. So it was actually a very eye-opening and revelation-type thing with him.

How do you feel about the OTT boom and OTT stars being just as big as classic film stars?

I think OTT has given a very big platform to many of the actors who were perhaps earlier considered not camera-worthy. Technically, people—like average-looking people—might be very good actors, but they were not getting the chance because they were not hero or heroine material. You know, the typical thing. So OTT has given a very big platform to that, and because of that, I think there is a lot of confidence among actors now. It has opened up for them, and it has made things easier for many theatre actors as well, including actors who are character artists or are very good with the character roles but don’t have six packs or great bodies. It’s a boon for all of us, and we are thankful to the universe for the OTT boom.

What is in store for you in the future?

It’s all in time, one step at a time. Right now, I’m just waiting for the release. Once the release happens, I will want to know how people liked it, did not like it, or what. What criticism I get. And then I’ll take one step at a time. Then I’ll decide what to do next.