Words for the win! Dialogue writer Karan Vyas talks about Scam 1992

It is not often that we come across films whose power-packed dialogues complement its clutter-breaking storyline. If Hansal Mehta’s Scam 1992 had an intriguing narrative to appease viewers, its dialogues have only enhanced the experience of watching Harshad Mehta’s story unfold on screen.

Man of the moment, dialogue writer Karan Vyas says it is the persona of the film’s muse that inspired his writing. “Harshad has a natural style and swagger. So, the dialoguebaazi of the show wasn’t forced. The 90s’ flamboyance strongly influenced people’s language. I wrote to capture the essence of this man. Can you imagine a broker putting up his billboards on Marine Drive?” questions Vyas, still humoured by the absurdity of the situation.

When working on a character that invited the wrath of people, Vyas says he had to approach the task with an unclouded opinion. “He had no vices—he didn’t drink, he wasn’t a womaniser. He was blinded by ego. You need to understand the psyche of a guy who says, ‘Old school ho ya new school, sabke syllabus mein ek common subject hota hai, profit. Aur woh mera favourite subject hai’.”

Some of his cherry picks include the line, ‘What is success? Failure ke baad ka chapter.’ Harshad’s colleagues told him that he’ll never go far, because of the Shani in his kundali. The writers introduced the line, ‘Jab dil mein money ho toh kundali mein shani hone se kuch nahin hota,’ to highlight how stubborn he was. Vyas’s favourite, he says, is, ‘Why is there no common woman? Because women are always special.’

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