07 January,2025 08:52 AM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Paresh Ganatra Pic/Instagram
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.
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 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.
