On May 16, filmmaker Hansal Mehta announced the third instalment of his Scam frnachise, Scam 2010- The Subrata Roy Saga. The series will be based on the book, Sahara: The Untold Story by Tamal Bandyopadhyay, and will focus on the life and story of the late businessman who founded the business conglomerate Sahara India Pariwar in 1978. A day post the announcement Roy's family has issued a statement expressing disapproval of the show.
The statement issued by the Sahara India Pariwar reads, "An abusive and grossly condemnable act has been demonstrated by the makers of 'Scam' to achieve cheap and wide publicity, by announcing to unveil, "Scam 2010: The Subrata Roy Saga". Sahara India Pariwar condemns such acts of all the individuals and parties involved and shall resist to their offending behavior. In this regard, the aggrieved members are seeking advice to take suitable legal action against the Producer, Director and all those who are involved in making the illegal portrayal."
When we reached out to Mehta for his response to the statement, he said, “I am shooting in UK. I am not aware of this. A relevant response will be provided by the relevant parties.” The filmmaker is currently shooting for his next series, Gandhi with actor Pratik Gandhi in the UK. Scam 2010 is a Sony LIV series and is produced by Applause Entertainment.
The statement further read, “Sahara India Pariwar believes that the dispute between SEBI and Sahara is still pending before Hon'ble Supreme Court and any attempt to influence the proceedings of the said case shall attract contempt of Court, besides such acts amount to criminality. In the garb of a right of free Speech and expression, no one can be allowed to undermine the goodwill and reputation of a person, who is not available to defend himself. The use of the word 'scam' in the title of the so-called web-series and linking it to Sahara seems prima-facie defamatory, and tends to lower down the image and reputation of Saharasri Ji and Sahara India Pariwar. Sahara India Pariwar has never been involved in any chit fund activity. Even the Sahara-SEBI issue was a dispute on the SEBI’s jurisdiction on OFCD bonds issued by Sahara.”
{{/usCountry}}The statement further read, “Sahara India Pariwar believes that the dispute between SEBI and Sahara is still pending before Hon'ble Supreme Court and any attempt to influence the proceedings of the said case shall attract contempt of Court, besides such acts amount to criminality. In the garb of a right of free Speech and expression, no one can be allowed to undermine the goodwill and reputation of a person, who is not available to defend himself. The use of the word 'scam' in the title of the so-called web-series and linking it to Sahara seems prima-facie defamatory, and tends to lower down the image and reputation of Saharasri Ji and Sahara India Pariwar. Sahara India Pariwar has never been involved in any chit fund activity. Even the Sahara-SEBI issue was a dispute on the SEBI’s jurisdiction on OFCD bonds issued by Sahara.”
{{/usCountry}}For the unversed, Roy had a dust-to-diamond story as he founded the Sahara conglomerate. In the early 2000s, the businessman was accused of chit-fund manipulations and fake investors, which ultimately lead to his arrest in 2014. An approximate amount of ₹25,000 crore regarding his case is still lying unclaimed with government authorities.