Superboys of Malegaon: Seeing is believing

As you watch Superboys of Malegaon, there is an uncanny feeling that it has been made by one or more of the Superboys themselves. It does not go over the top when the boys reap unexpected success, and does not become judgmental when differences arise among them. It is not sympathy on show here—it is empathy. That is a rare commodity in cinema, and happens only when your heart beats for your characters. The film, which comes 16 years after Faiza Ahmed Khan’s documentary, Supermen of Malegaon, doffs its hat at the earlier effort, but avoids duplication. It provides welcome relief from a spate of massacre and ultra-nationalistic films that have flooded the multiplexes in the last few years. Superboys of Malegaon is warm, sincere and definitely worth watching.

It is 1997. Nasir Shaikh, whose name sometimes appears as Shaikh Nasir, runs a video parlour in Malegaon, a small town close to Nashik, in Maharashtra. He is a fan of Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin, and shows their films, made decades ago, all of them in black and white and many of them silent. As could be anticipated, the response is lukewarm. To entice viewers, he gets an idea: he interpolates scenes from different movies, mainly action dramas featuring Bruce Lee, in seamless cuts, joined to other movies with a match-cut. The ruse works, but disaster strikes when the police raid his parlour and demolish everything, because what he offers as spliced entertainment is tantamount to video piracy, under Section 415 of the Indian Penal Code. Distraught but not disheartened, Nasir decides to make his own film. Possessing several cameras and VCRs, he believes he can shoot, edit and put together a feature film. Though he has only Rs. 12,000 in his kitty, he embarks on a journey, but not to Mumbai, where Hindustani films are made, for making a film there would cost a fortune. Instead, he decides to make his film in Malegaon itself, with indigenous local ‘talent’.

There is a writer in Malegaon named Farogh, a friend of Nasir, who has a story, and offers it to Nasir. But Nasir’s sixth sense tells him that a spoof or parody will draw audiences like a magnet. To make his parody, he chooses the all-time hit film, Sholay. He asks Farogh to write the script of Malegaon ke Sholay. Farogh is sorely disappointed, but agrees to write his friend’s script. Some of his friends are cast as Veeru (played by Dharmendra in Sholay), Jai (Amitabh Bachchan), Rubber Singh (Amjad Khan) and Thakur (Sanjeev Kumar). Getting women to act in conservative Malegaon is well-nigh impossible, but one brave lady steps forward, willing to act. However, she insists that she will keep her face covered. Having no other alternative, she is cast in the role that Jaya Bhaduri had played in the film—a widow, who secretly loves Jai. When it comes to Basmati (a variety of Indian rice, play upon the name Basanti, enacted by Hema Malini in Sholay), they are stuck. No woman of Malegaon will even consider acting as the brash, brazen horse-cart owner and love interest of Veeru. Fate smiles upon them when, on a visit to Nashik, they attend a dance show, in which a woman named Tripti gyrates to the tune of ‘Ek do teen’, a hit song picturised on Madhuri Dixit in Tezaab, eliciting thunderous applause. Nasir signs her for the role of Basmati, paying her what she demands, Rs. 1,000.

The amazingly versatile Civil Engineer from Banaras Hindu University, Varun Grover has written the screenplay of the film, and he is in his deft touch here. Arriving on the dialogue scene in 2006, with Ghoom, he got really noticed in Masaan (2015). All these years, he wrote lyrics for many a film. After a long hiatus, he returned to writing with Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar, and All India Rank (2024), which he also directed. In Superboys of Malegaon, he is also an Executive Producer. I have seen only Masaan from the above-named films, and it was enough to convince me that this gifted writer, stand-up comedian, lyricist, director and part-time producer, who was thirty-five years old then, has a bright future. Of course, when you are making a film about real people, most of whom are alive, and there is already a documentary made about them, it is easier than starting on a blank slate. Research is the key, and Grover and team have got all their basics right. Except for occasional Hindi words used in place of Urdu, the dialogues are well-written. Varun shares the dialogue and ethnic accent credit with Shoaib Zulfi Nazir, who must be a local Malegaonkar, judging by his name.

Language is functional and spontaneous, keeping in mind the fact the characters are most likely poorly educated. Nasir’s crush on one girl, Mallika, and Nasir being the crush of another girl, Shabeena, is delicately portrayed. When one member of his team tells him that he is going to shoot the video of a wedding and Nasir accompanies him, only to discover that the wedding was that of his beloved, audiences will not be able to prevent their hearts from tugging and eyes from moistening. Farogh’s disillusionment at having his script hacked to pieces by Nasir, Nasir’s unwillingness to film his story titled Detectives of Malegaon and his subsequent trip to Mumbai, to try and sell his stories to producers in Bollywood, are convincingly drawn out. That he is an alcoholic, and the one producer he manages to meet and interact with, might both appear as stereo-types, but remember, this is a true story.

A loyal devotee of Nasir, Shafique, who works in a loom mill, and who is diagnosed with cancer, was a tobacco addict, but he is never shown chewing tobacco. After a couple of scenes, Nasir’s family is not to be seen, something one misses, but not too much. His wife’s attitude towards his ex-beloved is too good to be true, a case of fact being stranger than fiction. The doctor of Nashik first refusing to come to Malegaon and then changing his mind when offered a role in Superman of Malegaon is too convenient, and would be considered a trope, had the film not been based on facts. Nasir’s failure, in making a bad film based on a play written by a stage performer, Asif Albela, is glossed over, the idea being to focus on the positive aspects of the tale. But the script does not shy away from terming Nasir’s decision to incorporate an in-film placement advertisement of a local match-sticks brand a bad decision.

Superboys of Malegaon will do a ton of good to the reputation of director Reema Kagti (Talaash, Gold, Dahaad), who has been helped by some excellent casting. It is creditable that you often feel the absence of a director, and several scenes appear to have been improvised by the actors themselves. Workshops and rehearsals usually result in emanating such an aura. Time and again, the film drags you right into the narrative, as silent spectators of the unfolding drama. Without a single star name in the cast, the film stands on its own, and that is no mean achievement. Like life itself, there are ups and downs in the film, heart-throbs and heart-burns, brainwaves and no brainers, practical wisdom and maverick minds, but it is the never say die spirit of the unlikely dreamers, amateur film-buffs, the heroes of Malegaon, that prevails. They have already put Malegaon on the film map, and thanks to Superboys of Malegaon, it will no longer be confused with Goregaon, Koregaon or Assangaon.

Adarsh Gourav has pumped life into the character of Nasir Shaikh and enacted the role with consummate artistry. Not many would have done it better. Shashank Arora as Shafique leaves a strong impression. Muskkaan Jaferi, cast as Shabeena, turns in a nuanced performance. Riddhi Kumar as Nasir’s love Mallika, who is married off to a Mumbai boy, retains dignity and remains in character. Manjiri Pupala, as Tripti, combines the seduction of an item song dancer with the love of a mother for her baby, smoothly. As Farogh, Vineet Singh lives the role.

Reminds you of the alcoholic poet Alam, played by Raza Murad in Namak Haram (1973). Cast as amateurs, there are professional performances on display, by Gyanendra Tripathi as Nasir’s brother, Nihal, Chetan Swarup Mishra as Soorma Bhopali (in the Sholay spoof), Dhananjay Kapoor as the oncologist who had nursed an ambition to become an actor, and who gets his big break in Malegaon ka Superman playing the father, Sanjay Dadhich as Siraj of Mumbai (my namesake), Anuj Singh Duhan as Akram. Aleem          is played by Pallav Singh, Irfan by Saqib Ayub, Nadeem by Anmol Khajani, Yash Yogendra as Asif Albela and Raju by Abhinav Grover.

The real and the reel: Nasir Shaikh with Adarsh Goutam

Cinematography by Swapnil S. Sonawane and Parnil Vishwasrao is unobtrusive and avoids odd angles, unnecessary heights/top angles and trolley movements. There are barely two or three time lapse crossover shots, most of the time period being identified by captions. Editing by Anand Subaya lets only filtered, strictly relevant content in, and at 131 minutes, Superboys of Malegaon is just about perfect in duration. Music by Sachin-Jigar is a definite asset, as are Javed Akhtar’s lyrics, but somebody please tell Sound Designer Niraj Gera to keep the decibels under check, for the volume at which the sound-track attacks our ear-drums could cause deafness to susceptible people.

Having two directors among the producers, Farhan Akhtar and Zoya Akhtar, must have helped in developing the subject and getting some useful inputs. Almost a believe it or not saga, the true-life story of a rag-tag bunch of amateur film-makers who redefined the art, using cycle-mounting as a camera trolley, is to be seen, to be believed.

Rating: *** ½

Trailer: https://youtu.be/Zu4AQ73kXvk