The Pyramid Scheme Review: I’m a little late on The Pyramid Scheme, which is now available on Prime Video, but sometimes a show comes in under the radar and never leaves. Here’s how it happened. I was going to try out the first episode, but I didn’t stop at the end of that one, I went straight on to the next episode. I knew by the end of the seven episode series what it was that made it resonate with so many across the country.
The Pyramid Scheme, a project of TVF, has always been known for producing well-grounded and accessible stories, an endeavor that is delving into the world of multi-level marketing frauds and pyramid schemes that have entangled countless normal individuals. The idea is a chilling one. Out of nowhere a company comes up and offers people unrealistic dividends, requests an investment of funds, and invites people to recruit people under them. The chain gets a lot longer and more and more cash starts rolling in; the dreams start to get bigger and then one day, it all falls apart. The company evaporates, leaving investors in disbelief and devastated. The series ponders this reality and turns it into a captivating drama that’s fun and yet unnerving.
The fact that the show looks into the psychology behind these scams was the most impressive. Instead of blaming victims, it emphasises the hopes and dreams that motivate somebody to engage in such scams. A car, an international holiday, luxury shopping, parties, financial security, a better life, these are all alluring offers of fast money to those who come from a middle class or lower middle class background and start to dream of a better life. It’s an authentic portrait of that emotional fragility, and that’s what the series is about. It shows how ambition is slowly transformed into greed and how greed can warp one’s perception.
It’s a seven-part series that’s never dull for the 35- to 45-minute duration of each episode. There is hardly any slowdown. Each episode brings another layer to the story, maintaining an tension while also enriching the emotional connection with the characters. Although it’s a pretty familiar place, the characters are believable and the journey is interesting.
This is a tremendous achievement for the cast. It’s Paramvir Singh Cheema and Ranvir Shorey who are leading the show but I can say for sure that the other cast members are the backbone of the show. The rest of the world feels real because of their own struggles, goals, emotional issues, etc. These characters are given enough depth in the writing that viewers can identify characters they might have known in their lives. These ancillary performances would have been less significant if they were not as effective as they are.
Also, I liked that the veteran actor Shekhar Suman was in the show. His presence on screen is a bit of an extended cameo but it serves to give weight to the story. With his short tenure on-screen, he still makes a big splash.
The Pyramid Scheme comes to a market already crowded by successful scam tales like Scam 1992, Scam 2003, Farzi, Lucky Baskhar, Special 26, and Jamtara. It’s not as high as some of the greats, but it’s still a part of that conversation because it has a scam model that has impacted on a ton of families. The fact that these situations are not hypothetical, but real-life examples make situations more relevant, particularly for viewers who have had a first-hand experience of or suffered losses due to similar schemes.
The balance is what makes the show work in its favor. It’s not preachy, not melodramatic, and not so dark that no one in the family would want to watch it. It has no abusive language or vulgarity so it can be watched by a wide audience.
The Pyramid Scheme is successful for me because it has good acting, is a good story, and the topic is alarmingly real. This is a good reminder to viewers that money often entails expenses that aren’t always obvious, especially when trying to get it quickly.
Rating: 4/5
