Superboys of Malegaon- A love letter to Indian cinema
Posted on October 21, 2024 | by Priya Chopra
Reema Kagti and Zoya Akhtar seem to have an instinct for recognizing cinematic potential, and Superboys of Malegaon is no exception. The film is based on a 2008 documentary called Superman of Malegaon directed by Faiza Ahmad Khan. The documentary centres around Nasir Shaikh, who is frustrated by his family’s struggling video parlour, and decides to recreate Hindi movies featuring local talent from his own city. He gets inspired to make a feature film for the people, by the people of Malegaon, a city in north Maharashtra known for its hand-loom industry. What starts as a parody of the iconic film Sholay, becomes a very powerful series of subsequent films over time.
Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti created Tiger Baby Productions back in 2019 featuring Talaash, Gully Boy, and Made in Heaven. Akhtar knew Superboys of Malegaon was a story she wanted to share with the world. “I actually saw the documentary and fell in love with it, and time passed but it stays with you,” Akhtar goes on to say “And then I was at a film festival in Delhi, and across the room, I see Nasir, and he recognized me because I’m a filmmaker. I recognized him because I’d seen the documentary. We walked toward each other and introduced ourselves, and he just said: ‘I’m a huge fan of your father’s. I’ve ripped off all his films.’ And I just knew then and there, that there was a love story here.”Akhtar is referring to her legendary father, Javed Akhtar, who actually wrote Sholay with Salim Khan in 1975. Nasir decides to do a remake of Sholay featuring the local talent of Malegaon.
Superboys of Malegaon features a strong star cast including Adarsh Gourav, Vineet Kumar Singh, Shashank Arora, Anuj Singh Duhan, Saqib Ayub, Manjiri Pupala, and Muskkaan Jaferi. Each character was made to look exactly like Nasir’s real friends involved in his production from hair to make up to walking style, ensuring every single detail was replicated. Every character has such a unique role, and the synergy created between all of them is a sheer delight, alongside Sachin-Jigar’s music.
Along with a great starcast, Varun Grover co-wrote the screenplay, and brought the documentary to life. Vineet Kumar Singh plays the character of Farogh, who stands by his morals and convinctions and says ”Writer baap hota hai”, meaning the writer is indeed the father and backbone of the story. Grover has surely brought the documentary to life in the village of Malegaon with a blend of fiction and non-fiction, paying homage to real life Nasir Shaikh.
The world premiere of Superboys of Malegaon was met with standing ovation, and tears from the sold out crowd at the Roy Thompson Hall in Toronto. The real life Nasir was emotional, and remembers the friends he lost along the way, but was overjoyed to see the reaction from a diverse crowd in Toronto. “Cinema has always been our refuge from the monotony and hardships of daily life”, says Nasir. The story brings together universal elements of friendship, loyalty, and overcoming adversity.
As a consumption-based society, it was quite endearing to look at the concept of creation, which each character in the movie portrays, while maintaining Nasir’s dream. Creating an original story versus merely creating a parody of Sholay or movies from the past becomes the key to commercial and personal success over time in the film. Farogh’s character is instrumental in encouraging Adesh Gourav, who plays the role of Nasir, to take the leap of faith into creation, no matter how scary it is. Nasir is met with a fraternity of support when it is needed the most.
Adarsh Gourav who plays Nasir says "At its core, the film is also about friendship and trust. These filmmakers in Malegaon didn't have big budgets or fancy equipment, but what they had was each other-people who believed in the same dream and were willing to go to any length to make it come true. I think that's the real strength of this story, the friendships and trust that fuel these seemingly impossible journeys. It's a reminder that, with the right people by your side, no dream is too far out of reach.”
What stood out to me was how humble and passionate each actor was in coming together to create magic on and off screen at TIFF 2024. Arora, Pupala, Ayub, and Duhan provide moments of comedic relief and balance to the intensity of adverse moments when egos clash between Singh and Gourav. Pupala and Jaferi play strong female characters. Superboys of Malegaon is definitely a feel good movie, that will have you wanting to meet the real life Nasir, who is a director, editor, and cinematographer. He is charming, warm, and passionate about being behind the camera.
Superboys of Malegaon will head to the UK for its premiere in October, and will be in theatres in India and the U.S. in January 2025. The film will then stream worldwide on Prime Video in over 240 countries.