Scam 1992 to The Wizard of Lies : Riveting shows and films based on scams to watch before Jamtara 2

Jamtara is gearing up for another exciting new season, where the young scammers try to put their skills to the test yet again in their efforts to swindle the people of their village yet again. Scams and frauds certainly make for an intriguing story to film shows and films around, and the success of Jamtara is proof of the same. While Jamtara saw scammers making use of their tech savviness to dupe unsuspecting victims, the plethora of ways scammers operate have also inspired a number of other silver screen works. As you wait for Jamtara 2 to drop on Netflix on September 23, here are a few films and shows based on the dubious world of scammers and fraudsters.

The Wizard of Lies (2017)

Bernie Madoff had pulled off one of the biggest Ponzi schemes in US history, swindling billions from his investors. The Wizard of Lies traces the riveting true story of Madoff’s investment scandal, which also involved his wife and sons. The film stars Robert De Niro as Madoff and also features Michelle Pfeiffer and Alessandro Nivola in pivotal roles. The 2017 film, directed by Barry Levinson, can be streamed on Disney+ Hotstar.

Scam 1992

Based on the book The Scam: Who Won, Who Lost, Who Got Away written by Sucheta Dalal and Debashish Basu, Scam 1992 follows the rise and fall of Indian stockbroker Harshad Mehta. Starting off from humble beginnings, the series traces how Mehta made use of his consulting firm to find out and exploit loopholes in the financial market system in the country, and use them for manipulating stocks. Pratik Gandhi stars as the market manipulator while Shreya Dhanwanthary essays the role of journalist Sucheta Dalal. Scam 1992, directed by Hansal Mehta, is available to stream on Sony LIV. A second instalment in the series, titled Scam 2003 is currently in development as well.

Bad Vegan: Fame. Fraud. Fugitives.

This 2022 docu series follows the story of Sarma Melngailis, a vegan chef and restaurant owner, who owned restaurants such as Pure Food and Wine and One Lucky Duck. Melngailis was married to Anthony Strangis, a conman who, according to the former, allegedly promised to make her dog immortal. Under the influence of her husband, Melngailis had started to steal from both of her restaurants, her fraud coming undone when she was unable to pay the wages of her employees. The docu series can be watched on Netflix.

Batti Gul Meter Chalu

Batti Gul Meter Chalu revolves around the story of a lawyer who fights against the malpractices of an electricity company who tries to dupe their customers by giving them inflated electricity bills. The film featured Shahid Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Divyendu Sharma and Yami Gautam in lead roles and was directed by Shree Narayan Singh. The film is available for streaming on ZEE5.

The Tinder Swindler (2022)

This 2022 documentary series follows how Shimon Hayut aka Simon Leviev, had conned a number of women into thinking he was the heir of a diamond empire. The conman used to lead the women he used to date, whom he sought out via Tinder, to believe that he was under constant threat of attacks by enemies. The women used to send Leviev huge amounts of money, after which he used to break off contact with them. The series can be viewed on Netflix.