(UTV | INDIA) – ‘Shiksha Mandal…India’s Biggest Education Scam’ is a narrative that revolves around a fraud that shook the entire educational system. Inspired by true events, the show captures the grave reality of the situation and resonates with the current educational environment in India.
Shiksha Mandal’s director Sayed Ahmad Afzal and the talented cast Gauahar Khan and Pavan Malhotra shared their thoughts on it.
Pavan Malhotra said, “They say that hope can help one survive any situation. But, when you read about such scams knocking down the educational system, I can’t even imagine what it can do to an aspiring student.”
”All we can do in times like this is raise our voices and let them know we’re here for them, even if it’s via a web series. A show like Shiksha Mandal is going to be explosive in revealing some similar scams and hopefully, encourage change in the educational system in India.”
Gauahar Khan adds, “I’m so proud of the success stories of Indians across the globe with their educational backgrounds from India. We have the best in education here, yet certain aspects of the entire system and the disturbing news we read daily about ongoing scams even in getting basic education completed and the corrupt intentions of some people shake one up.”
”Shiksha Mandal, as a show, brings to light a few of these issues. I’m so proud and happy to have had the opportunity to play such a strong character, my first as a cop. I can’t wait for audiences to watch it.”
“The scam of churning out doctors unworthy of the profession and through various fraudulent means is one of the dangerous things to have happened in the education sector. And it’s still happening even though authorities have been trying very hard to stop the fraud.”
‘‘Over time this scam has deepened its roots in the education sector, and more stringent action is required. Since the profession of doctors is so revered in our society, it becomes even more necessary to eradicate the menace as quickly as possible.”
”I was quite intrigued with the world of fraudsters linked with the scam when I first heard the concept coming from my Producer Piyush Gupta. We’ve seen films and web shows inspired by scams before as well, so I thought about what would make Shiksha Mandal different from them.”
”Then I came up with the thought of showing a single scam individually affecting the different strata of the society; the Niche rich, the Middle Class, and the grass-root level. And hence Shiksha Mandal’s emotional quotient is on the higher side.”
”It has been quite a coincidence that since the first look of Shiksha Mandal was released, we’ve been hearing about so many occurrences of churning out fake doctors from various parts of the country in the news daily.”
”The scam is still thriving and is constantly updating itself with the sole intention to find loopholes in the system.”, added Sayed Ahmad Afzal.
With a socially relevant premise and equally talented cast, ‘Shiksha Mandal’ will reveal corruption, fraud, cheating, and criminal conspiracy that affects vulnerable students in India. It is directed by Syed Ahmad Afzal and stars Gulshan Devaiah, Gauahar Khan, and Pavan Malhotra in lead roles and will soon be available on an OTT platform.