If you want to know someone’s taste in cinema, just ask them one question: “Have you watched Scam 1992?” If they say yes, that’s good news. If they say no, then it’s up to you to decide when and how to create distance from them. The same mastermind, Hansal Mehta, who created Scam 1992, is back with another brilliant, mind-blowing show—Scoop. It’s a powerful, underrated web series released on Netflix. For anyone who truly loves cinema, skipping this show would be nothing less than a mistake.
Cast
- Karishma Tanna
- Harman Baweja
- Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub
- Inayat Sood
- Tanmay Dhanania
- Sanat Vyas
- Ira Dubey
- Deven Bhojani
- Ishitta Arun
- Eshaan Pereira
- Pratik Gandhi
- Manasi Rachh
- Tannishtha Chatterjee
- Prosenjit Chatterjee
- Ravish Desai
- Tejaswini Kolhapure
- Aniruddh Rawal
- Pubali Sanyal
- Gopi Desai
- Aalekh Kapoor
- Prashanth Goswami
- Manoj Mani Mathew
Photos
Release Date
2 June 2023
Director
Hansal Mehta
Genre
- Crime
- Drama
- Triller
- Mystery
Rating
4 / 5
Overview
In 2003, a dangerous attack takes place on the owner of a famous hotel. He is shot dead in Dubai. Later, it’s revealed that he used to handle the business of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim—managing money, handling investments, everything. To understand why the attack happened, we go three years back to 2000, in Bangkok, where the right-hand man of another don, Chhota Rajan, is shot with 32 bullets. Chhota Rajan manages to escape.
This was one of the darkest moments in Mumbai’s gang war history—Chhota Rajan vs Dawood Ibrahim. Two dangerous underworld dons who had become sworn enemies.
And the person keeping track of both of them. A simple news reporter. Her pen proved more powerful than even the biggest guns of the underworld. But the shocking part is that one day, this reporter herself became the biggest news in the country. Her photo appeared on the front page. The accusation? Unbelievable—she was called the girlfriend of Chhota Rajan. And it was said that on her orders, the don killed the city’s most honest journalist, just to remove her competition.
This reporter, who once never scared the police with her bold reporting, ended up behind bars herself. That gripping story is what the series Scoop tells.
Whenever we hear the word underworld, we feel a kind of thrill. This Scoop show actually reveals how that world worked. We read bold headlines in newspapers every day, but Scoop shows how those stories are born—how they move from a journalist’s mind to the printed paper.
Just like Scam 1992 taught us so much about the stock market in a new and engaging way, Scoop series shows us a whole new face of the media industry. The subject is fresh and different—something few have paid attention to. What’s great is that the show is made in a suspense thriller style, not like a boring, lecture-style documentary.
There are six episodes, and yes, they’re a bit long—around an hour each. But so much keeps happening on screen that you won’t even notice when you go from episode 1 to episode 6. The story is unpredictable, especially because the person it’s based on is someone we haven’t heard much about. For that, director Hansal Mehta deserves praise. Whether it was Scam or now Scoop, he chooses people and stories that are fascinating but often overlooked.
What Pratik Gandhi did as Harshad Mehta in Scam is almost impossible to repeat. There’s no comparison. But Karishma Tanna has given the best performance of her career. Her face is like a dictionary of expressions. Her emotions are so real and natural, it doesn’t feel like we’re watching a web series—it feels like real CCTV footage of the reporter’s life.
And yes, in case I forgot to mention, Scoop series is based on a real-life story. It’s adapted from a book written by the real-life journalist herself. Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub is also in the series—an actor who’s criminally underrated. If you need proof, just watch any episode. His character is powerful and impactful.
Turning the dark connection between the media industry and the underworld into a TV series is a brilliant idea. The story is unpredictable—you never know what’s going to happen, who will do what, or how it will unfold. The performances are strong—Karishma and Zeeshan in the lead, supported by many talented actors. The detailing is amazing—even first-time viewers of media-related stories will understand all the little things. You’ll even understand what the word “scoop” truly means.
If there’s one small complaint, it’s that maybe six episodes weren’t necessary. The show feels stuck in a few places. If one or two episodes had been removed or shortened, it would have felt crisper and tighter. Still, it’s absolutely worth your time. You don’t have to watch it right this second, but if you’re someone who enjoys quality cinema, don’t miss Scoop web-series by mistake. It’s 100% recommended.