- Friday, October 18, 2024
“Superboys of Malegaon” highlights the challenges of creating movies in a small town with little funding or professional training
By: India Weekly
MALEGAON’S no-budget film scene has reached the global stage with the European premiere of “Superboys of Malegaon” at the London Film Festival.
The film, directed and produced by Reema Kagti, chronicles the true story of Shaikh Nasir and his friends, who gained local fame for their parodies of Bollywood and Hollywood classics like “Sholay” and “Superman.”
Nasir’s DIY approach to filmmaking and the use of amateur actors resonated with local audiences in Malegaon, a textile town in Maharashtra, India.
His films’ success reached a wider audience with the 2008 documentary “Supermen of Malegaon.” Malegaon’s connection to the broader Hindi film industry is deeper than it appears; co-producer Zoya Akhtar’s father, Javed Akhtar, wrote “Sholay,” the film that inspired Nasir’s passion for cinema.
“It’s a very, very big story from a very small town in India,” Akhtar said. “It tells you how connected you are, especially with cinema.” The director Kagti shared a similar sentiment, emphasizing that making the film was a tribute to many figures in Indian cinema.
Entry to global stage
The film highlights the challenges of creating movies in Malegaon, located about 300 kilometers from Mumbai.
With little funding or professional training, Nasir relied on his creativity and makeshift techniques, such as filming tracking shots from the back of a moving truck. The Superman parody, for instance, featured the protagonist in a comical costume, flying with the help of improvised green-screen setups.
Adarsh Gourav, who plays Nasir in “Superboys,” stated that Nasir’s films offer local audiences a break from their daily lives in the town’s video parlours. “Every person who was part of that film has been immortalized and has been made into a hero of sorts,” said Gourav.
The film addresses themes such as poverty and hope, showing how a simple camera can transform everyday life.
“The story is so universal that we feel there is a global audience,” said executive producer Ritesh Sidhwani, noting that the film had also been showcased at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Malegaon’s filmmaking community, often referred to as “Mollywood,” continues to thrive, with actors from Nasir’s early works sharing their films on platforms like YouTube. As Akhtar put it, the story of Malegaon’s filmmakers is a reminder that “people don’t need to wait for a big break.”
