The second volume of Scam 2003 picks off from the same point where the first volume had ended, and while the first volume was essentially a buildup of the rise of Abdul Karim Telgi, the man behind a gigantic stamp paper scam running into crores and crores of Rupees, the second volume is focused towards his eventual downfall and the events leading up to his death(this ain’t a spoiler given that it is based on a true event). And the story here is quite compelling, especially with a bit of a cat and mouse game that is underway. The screenplay standing at 5 episodes ranging from 30 odd to 40 odd minutes was a brisk watch which in turn made me wonder on why a prestigious platform like SonyLiv would then divide a single season into two parts. But the proceedings are supremely compelling although a little patchy and rushed towards the end.

The drama opens with the limelight set of the protagonist following his act at a dance bar before branching into fringe events that are used almost as a catalyst in the larger context. In other words, the events transpiring around the same timeline had a massive impact in the fall of the protagonist which is nicely highlighted here. The writers introduce a new set of characters to slowly raise the stakes in the game but the internal equations between the characters keep shifting based on their vested interests. After a point, it is clear that there are multiple stakeholders to the scam where everyone is involved, and the protagonist just has to please the officials in cash or kind. Why am I not shocked? In between, the personal life of the protagonist is nicely touched upon which forms the emotional core of the drama, which also acts as a payback towards the end.

The proceedings are interesting and engrossing particularly when honesty enters the arena in the form of a couple of characters who would stop at nothing to lay their hands on the kingpin. Yet, the prevalent politics of the time did add a compelling layer to the narrative with a little cat and mouse game underway. I did feel though that this entire episode could have been concluded in under 8 episodes, or perhaps the final act could have been a little more fleshed out. The setup was such that it did drew you in the narrative, but the simplistic conclusion at the end just left me a little unsatisfied. But, I can give a little leeway if I were to watch the overall picture, and the journey itself seemed fascinating to the core, while being an eye opener on how Scams can transpire by simply tweaking the system rules.