From behrupiya to scammer: theatre actor Gagan Dev Riar takes on Abdul Karim Telgi

MUMBAI: The stage at Prithvi Theatre is like a good audition reel. A discerning viewer can always spot a future star or a great character actor. Theatre performer Gagan Dev Riar, who had bit roles in successful plays such as Sunil Shanbag’s ‘Stories in a Song’ (2010) and Atul Kumar’s ‘Piya Behrupiya’ (2012), was one such lucky fellow. “Mira Nair had seen me in ‘Stories in a Song’ and cast me in her off-Broadway musical version of ‘Monsoon Wedding’,” says the 43-year-old. There were 21 actors in ‘Monsoon Wedding’, and even The Washington Post’s theatre critic had singled him out: “Gagan Dev Riar finds a touching essence to (his character) and sings perhaps the show’s most affecting and effective ballad.”

Nair cast him again in the TV adaptation of ‘A Suitable Boy’, where film-maker Hansal Mehta (‘Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story’) noticed him. This week, Dev Riar makes his leading role debut as Abdul Karim Telgi in the sequel, ‘Scam 2003’ on SonyLIV. They say that there are no small roles. But, Dev Riar adds, “I have never thought of myself as less than the hero for the duration I was on stage. I have always earned my space.”

Stage right

In the central suburbs of Mumbai, Dev Riar grew up in a family of dreamers. “My father wanted to be an actor, which he couldn’t achieve because of many reasons,” he says. “When I turned 16, he asked me if I wanted to act. I said, ‘I’ll give it a try.’” He enrolled in Ashok Kumar Academy in Chembur for a two-month summer programme, and later at Ruparel College in Matunga, participated in all theatre events. “Once I had given the ‘Tareekh pe tareekh’ monologue from ‘Damini’, and a judge pulled me over and said, ‘What you have performed is a film speech. A speech in theatre is different. Come tomorrow for my workshop, and I’ll show you how it’s done.’” This was Marathi play director Deepak Rajadhyaksha. “I understood then that I enjoy theatre more than films. Plus, my face was not so great that I would have received film offers immediately.”

Dev Riar worked on Nirmal Pandey’s ‘Andha Yug’ immediately out of college, and was part of Om Katare’s Yatri theatre group for nine years. “Then I felt I should learn from other directors and other perspectives as well.” So, plays with directors such as Trishla Patel, Shanbag and Kumar followed. “Every theatre director has taught me to keep it simple and keep it honest. Don’t look at any character from the point of view of the audience who is going to judge him. But, understand him as a human being. If I hadn’t done that, I would not have reached the level of ‘Scam 2003’.”

‘Scam 2003’ follows the life of Abdul Karim Telgi. From forging passports to stamp papers, Telgi’s scam is said to be in the neighbourhood of ₹30,000 crore. Newspaper reports painted him as a figure of contradictions. The owner of 36 properties and 124 bank accounts, he would pay for his employees to visit Ajmer every year. He once showered a bar dancer with ₹90 lakh at a New Year’s Eve party, and much later, confessed to all his misdemeanours because his wife told him to. Helmed by showrunner Mehta and director Tushar Hiranandani, Dev Riar was handpicked after auditions with casting director Mukesh Chhabra.

Chhabra says, “Even on stage, Gagan is the kind of actor who makes his character look like a normal person. We wanted our Telgi to look authentic and real. If we had taken an established actor, it wouldn’t have been as impactful. We saw this with Pratik Gandhi as Harshad Mehta as well. A new face has more impact. When we auditioned Gagan, we felt his face matched Telgi’s a bit. For one year, we made him gain weight, so that his look could become perfect for the role.”

Dev Riar went from 78 kilos to 96 kilos, and was on an insane diet, which began with five eggs in the morning and ended with four gulab jamuns at night. “That was the biggest challenge because you don’t know how to handle that overweight body,” he says. “You can’t recognise yourself in the mirror.” He says he doesn’t internalise characters, whether for the stage or the screen. “I get into the character by understanding body language and the manner of speaking. What will be his tonality, his sur? I have seen only one televised interview of Telgi in ‘Money Mafia’. So, I took his speech pattern and wove my character around it. From photographs I understood his hand gestures. My Telgi is a sum of these parts.”

Fans of the original (‘Scam 1992’ has a 9.3 rating on IMDb three years after its release) are bound to make comparisons. Dev Riar says, “I was reading YouTube comments on our trailer, and one fan said, ‘No one can beat Pratik Gandhi.’ Another person replied, ‘No one is beating Pratik Gandhi. He was doing Harshad Mehta. This guy is playing Abdul Karim Telgi.’ That’s my answer as well. There is no comparison. I just want to carry the good work Pratik has done forward.”