Actor Gagan Dev Riar gave his all to Mr Abdul Karim Telgi’s role in Scam 1992

Its 2021 The hindi film industry like the rest of the country is staring at uncertainty due to COVID19 At home actor Gagan Dev Riar wonders how he will pay next monthrsquos rent A call interrupts his thoughts and changes his life ldquoIt was a casting call I was told they wanted to test me for the lead part of Mr Abdul Karim Teglirsquos rolerdquo he recallsItrsquos 2023 two years later and Riarrsquos phone hasnrsquot stop ringing with calls from all around the country to congratulate him for his portrayal of Telgi in Hansal Mehtarsquos Scam 2003 ldquoA couple of days ago at 4 am some people called me I donrsquot know their names They I think were a little drunk and they wanted to organise a party for me somewhere They said lsquoWe will put up your hoardings and we will do parties sirrsquo I was laughing sitting in my roomrdquoRiar chucklesBut he remembers his first audition for the show being less than perfect ldquoI was not very excited about it because those were little depressing times for all of us courtesy COVID So I just prepared a little bit and I went for the audition They didnrsquot enjoy it lsquoWe have seen you perform on stage do something like that magicalrsquo I was told I realised I was taking it a little lightly I should not have I wasnrsquot doing my job properlyrdquo he says His theatre career has been prolific He is notably known for his portrayal of Sir Toby Belch which won him the META award for best supporting actor 2014 for Piya Behroopiya A Hindi adaptation of Shakespearersquos Twelfth NightThe feedback altered something within him and he invested a couple of days into preparing his own script for the next audition And magic happened ldquoHansal sir got on a call with me after the new audition He said lsquoGagan it was a beautiful audition and from my side you are confirmed Just give me a weekrsquos time Irsquoll just convince Sony people and Applause Entertainment because they also have to make decisionsrsquo Within one week he called me again and said lsquoWe are on Just start putting on weight nowrsquo It was all of very filmyrdquo he smilesThe moment of filmy fantasy didnrsquot last too long as Riar dived into the process of physically transforming into Telgi that turned out more daunting than he expected Gagan candidly shares that the weight gain journey almost caused him body image issues ldquoI did have my weaker moments when I was gaining the weight I wasnrsquot able to look at myself in the mirror because I never knew that I could look like this I told my nutritionist I was getting depressed because I couldnrsquot look at myself in the mirror He said lsquoPut curtain on your mirrors till the time you finish the shoot to avoid itrsquordquo Riar sharesWhen the shoot finally began April last year the actor found his concerns vanishing in no time ldquoMy acting has always helped me gain that confidence back A compliment on a good shot boosts your ego Then you take that one little ounce of confidence and take another step and then you take one day at a time Thatrsquos how I completed this journeyrdquo he saysThe emotional ride that he took to bring the man who committed one of the biggest financial frauds in the country to life was far more enjoyable for Riar though Even though the series is based on the book Telgi Ek Reporter ki Diary the actor considered the script his Bible and showrunner Mehta his guideldquoFlawed is the word to use for Telgi Many people use the word criminal and scamster Yes there was a scam and yes it was a crime but I would love to go with the word flawed Hansal sir actually gave me this idea that I should not think of him as a villain If I do that Irsquoll not be able to play it with the honesty and humanity because at the end of the day we all are humans and we all are flawedrdquo says ldquoEvery character has a vulnerability Telgi also had his weak as well as strong moments He loved and he hated everything that a human being does in his or her life Thatrsquos how I wanted to go about itrdquo he explainsFor now he is the actor of the moment When he met Pratik Gandhi recently the actor who played Harshad Mehta in Scam 1992 Gandhi had some life advice to impart ldquoAt the Scam party we clicked many photographs together and I said to him lsquoI havenrsquot done this ever before How long will the photo session go forrsquo He replied lsquoGet used to it nowrsquordquo the actor says