Actress Vidya Malavade, known for her role in Chak De! India, has opened up about her decision to stay away from microdramas until taking on the lead role in Scam 2024 – The Digital Arrest Story.
Making her debut in the short-form storytelling format, Malavade said the story and its close connection with audiences through their phones persuaded her to take up the project.
“I had stayed away from microdrama all this while. But this story intrigued me, and so did the fact that this format actually gets really close to people. It lives on their phones, in the same place where these scams happen,” she said.
Malavade plays Priya, an educated and cautious woman who becomes a victim of a digital arrest scam. She said the character made her confront how easily an ordinary person could fall prey to such fraud.
“I have played women who fight on a field, as the last line of defence. What frightened me most while playing Priya was realizing she could be any of us. Our parents. Our neighbours. Priya is educated, she is careful, she does everything right, and she still loses everything in a single afternoon,” she said.
She added that the story could be particularly relevant for people less familiar with the digital world, saying that if it makes even one family pause before responding to a scam call, it would have achieved something meaningful.
Bigg Boss 15 runner-up Pratik Sehajpal plays Vicky Mandal, the man behind the scam network. He said portraying the antagonist required him to understand the organised nature of such criminal operations.
Vineet Raina plays Raj Thakur, a suspended officer who joins the effort to bring down the network. He described the character as a tribute to officers who continue to fight such crimes.
The series also stars Sandeep Aurora as Anand, along with Priyanshi Tripathi, Puja Jha, Ayushi Tyagi, Shital Tejwani, Ashok K. Jha and Yogesh Pawar.
Produced by Small Town Boys and directed by Alok Sharma, Scam 2024 – The Digital Arrest Story is streaming exclusively on the Story TV app.