The bright lights of the British capital are a world apart from Malegaon, a heel-weaving town in a remote part of India’s western state of Maharashtra.
Small-town India’s DIY film industry comes to London
But the two performed together at this year’s London Film Festival, where the remarkable story of Margaon’s unlikely success in the film industry had its European premiere.
Directed by director and producer Reema Kagti, ‘Superboys of Malegaon’ tells the true story of Shaikh Nasir and his friends and a no-budget parody of Bollywood and Hollywood classics like ‘Sholay’ and ‘Superman’. This is a work I drew.
With DIY filmmaking techniques, amateur actors, and a unique flavor of local dialect and comedy, his work was an instant local hit.
Later, in 2008, a documentary on their work ‘Supermen of Malegaon’ was released and they gained international recognition.
However, Malegaon’s connection with the huge Hindi film industry is not far off. In a twist of fate, co-producer Zoya Akhtar’s father Javed Akhtar wrote ‘Shorai’, which sparked Nasir’s passion for filmmaking.
“This is a very, very big story from a very small town in India,” Akhtar told AFP in an interview. “It tells you how connected you are, especially with movies.”
“Nasir’s influence and mine are very similar,” Kagti added.
“So it was a real honor to be able to pay tribute to so many people, actors and the Indian film industry.”
“Superboys” is an ode to the determination of Nasir, played by Adarsh Gurav, who gained attention in the Oscar-nominated film adaptation of Aravind Adiga’s 2008 Booker Prize-winning novel “The White Tiger.”
In Malegaon, about 300 kilometers from India’s entertainment capital Mumbai, a small picture gallery in a video parlor has become a haven for workers looking to escape the daily grind of the looms.
Kagti said Nasir’s film provides a comedic respite and a chance to see their town portrayed on the big screen.
“Everyone in that movie was immortalized, made into some kind of hero, and given a reason to not only exist, but to celebrate life,” Grav added.
With no budget and little experience beyond his love of film and a gig as a wedding videographer, Nasir must improvise and use elaborate techniques to make his film.
During the filming of a Superman parody film, the hero wears comical red shorts with dangling drawstrings, uses a bizarre green screen contraption to fly, and Nasir balances on the bed of a truck as it speeds down a bumpy road. Take tracking shots as you go.
“Superboys” touches on everything from poverty to love and never strays away from Nasir’s unwavering belief in the power of the camera and imagination to transform the ordinary into the extraordinary.
Executive producer Ritesh Sidhwani said, “This story is so universal that we feel it has an audience all over the world.”
The film has already screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, and Sidhwani hopes the London screening will attract audiences beyond the Indian diaspora.
Nasir’s homegrown local films have succeeded in carving out a place for Malegaon in the sometimes difficult Indian film industry.
Akhtar said this is a lesson for everyone, especially in a world of smartphones where anyone can be a filmmaker.
“People who watch this movie will realize that they don’t have to wait for their big break… they can just take that step,” she added.
Nowadays, “Mollywood” as it is sometimes referred to, has continued to live on, with several of the actors from the original film following in Nasir’s footsteps and sharing their DIY creations on platforms like YouTube.
“This industry is now part of the history of Indian cinema,” Akhtar said.
In Superboys, parody writer Farrow tells Nasir: “You told our stories in our voices… You gave us dreamers a place in history.”
“Malegaon has added a new page to the history of Indian cinema.”
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