Actor Paresh Ganatra, who started his acting career with Gujarati theatre in 1984, recently recalled losing a large sum of money during the Harshad Mehta scam in 1992. He shared that the close encounter inspired him to play the role of Radhakishan Damani in Hansal Mehta`s web series Scam 1992 – The Harshad Mehta Story starring Pratik Gandhi in the titular role.
Paresh Ganatra on losing money to Harshad Mehta
During his appearance on Digital Commentary`s podcast, Paresh said, “I was working then and my salary was Rs 5,000 per month. I had Rs 75,000 in savings and it was a big amount at that time. I lost it all during the Harshad Mehta scam.”
“When I found out about Scam 1992, I insisted that I would play this role despite Hansal Mehta saying it was a small role. It was based on RK Damani who is the owner of D Mart and my personal story made me decide that I would definitely play it,” he added.
Filmmaker Hansal Mehta`s series narrates the story of one of the biggest financial scams in the Indian stock market. The financial thriller is based on Debashis Basu and Sucheta Dalal`s book The Scam: Who Won, Who Lost, Who Got Away.
Stockbroker Harshad Mehta, who was popularly known as the `Amitabh Bachchan of the Stock Market`, was named and charged with several financial crimes that took place in a 1992 securities scam.
Paresh Ganatra’s acting journey
Paresh made his film debut in 1999 with the romantic drama `Mann`, written and directed by Indra Kumar. The film starred Aamir Khan and Manisha Koirala, alongside Anil Kapoor, Sharmila Tagore, and Neeraj Vora with Rani Mukerji in a special appearance.
He has acted in movies like `Aankhen`, `Dil Diya Hai`, `No Entry`, `Money Hai Toh Honey Hai`, `Khichdi: The Movie`, `Delhi Belly`, `Rowdy Rathore`, `Ramaiya Vastavaiya`, `Yamla Pagla Deewana Phir Se`, `Dabangg 3`, and `Khichdi 2: Mission Paanthukistan`.
Paresh Ganatra was last seen in Aapka Apna Zakir. Alongside Zakir Khan, the show featured Shweta Tiwari and Rithvik Dhanjani. Embracing a quintessential Gujarati persona, Paresh`s character touched upon shares, real estate, insurance, and investments.