'The Pyramid Scheme' maker Shreyansh Pandey says that idea for show brewed with him for close to 15 years
Mumbai, June 7
Director Shreyansh Pandey, who has helmed the streaming show 'The Pyramid Scheme', has shared that he toyed around with the idea for the show for over a decade.
Shreyansh Pandey spoke with IANS during the promotions of the show with actors Ranvir Shorey, Paramvir Cheema and Shekhar Suman during the promotions of the show.
He spoke about the number of people affected by such ponzi schemes, and how the actual number can be far higher than the reported numbers given that people, who fall victim to pyramid schemes, do not report about the crime because of shame.
He told IANS, "I feel that in the last 20 years, there are more than 5000 companies who have done this. There are more than 5 crore people with whom this has happened. And this is the number that has been reported. As Sir said, the way they show dreams and you enter that pyramid. After that, when it breaks, you don't have the courage, the courage to go and report a case. Even to tell your family, friends, or people around you that this has happened to me. So, there are a lot of unreported cases. We did a lot of detailed research".
He further mentioned, "This is a story that has been going on with us since 2011. And we were not able to crack it at the core for a very long time. And then finally it happened. Even today, when we talk to someone, either that person has seen it directly. Or there are a lot of people in his family, someone's uncle, someone's brother, someone's aunt, sister who have gone through this. Someone has touched this scheme in some form or the other. It is a personal experience".
Produced by The Viral Fever, created by Shreyansh Pandey, 'The Pyramid Scheme' is directed by Ashish R Shukla and Shreyansh Pandey, The series is available to stream on Prime Video.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Finally someone is addressing this! We've all had that one uncle or neighbour who got lured into these 'get rich quick' schemes. The fact that 5 crore reported victims is just the tip of the iceberg is terrifying. Indian families need to have conversations about financial literacy. Kudos to TVF for taking this up.
Interesting perspective. Coming from a Western background, I never realized how prevalent these schemes are in India. The cultural shame factor preventing victims from reporting is something I hadn't considered. Glad this is being discussed openly. Will definitely check it out.
15 years of brewing an idea - that's real passion. I just hope the show doesn't glorify the scamsters. We need content that shows the real human cost, the families broken, the dreams shattered. Ranvir Shorey is a good choice for this kind of gritty role. Let's see if TVF delivers again.
My brother almost fell for one of these during the pandemic. The scammers are getting smarter - they now use WhatsApp groups and target the elderly. The police need to be more proactive too. Great that shows like this can create awareness. But I worry about the glamourisation - hope it focuses on the victims, not the perpetrators.
Shreyansh Pandey has done some solid work with TVF. But I hope this isn't another 'Pitchers' style show with too much college humour. Pyramid schemes destroyed families in my hometown in Punjab. This needs sensitive handling. Let the content speak for itself. Looking forward to Paramvir Cheema's performance.