Transitioning from the central whims and fancies of a typical Bollywood movie, the “Superboys of Malegaon” is based on Faiza Ahmad Khan’s 2008 documentary, “Superman of Malegaon”. The film brings you to the village of Malegoan, where the characters, all Muslim boys, are shown as the main protagonists and not the cliched roles of terrorists or sidekicks.
Produced by Excel Entertainment and Tiger Baby, it was released in cinemas on 28th February this year. Reema Kagti, the director of the film, brings to life the story of Nasir Sheikh, a boy in his 20s running a studio with his brother. His love for films compels him and his friends to venture on to make a parody of the popular Hindi film, Sholay. The storyline is slow and deeply engaging as it keeps you glued to the events happening in the lives of all the characters.
It stretched through their lives for 13 years showing the developments, highs, and lows of the friends–Nasir Shiekh (Adarsh Gourav), Shafique played by Shashank Arora, Farogh who is a writer played brilliantly by Vineet Kumar Singh, the videographer Akram played by Anuj Singh Duhan, and Shakeel played by Saqib Ayub.
The film ventures into some important questions and describes the efforts of movie-making, from the need for a team to work in tandem to create a masterpiece and the fact that the writer is the most important pillar of the movie. It depicts how mainstream cinema focuses on the larger-than-life picture and tends to forget what 90 per cent population feels like. The boys of Malegaon achieve fame and money in the process of making every character of Malegaon a star and narrating their stories in well-done cinematography.
It transitions to a tragic end, where one of the characters is suffering from a life-threatening disease, and all unite to make the best film of their lives. A delightful tale, proving that producers like Zoya Akhtar-Farhan Akhtar, who have been accused of making elite-centric movies, can ace the genre of a different form of filmmaking with Super Boys of Malegaon and Gully Boys.
Amidst the trail of commercially produced mass cinema, Superboys of Malegaon focuses solely on creativity, hard work and pure cinema. A lesson that must be spread, and a work that must be provided.
