Superboys of Malegaon
Nasir Shaikh (Adarsh Gourav, "The White Tiger") wants nothing more than to become a filmmaker and after he's successful screening action mash-ups in his home town, he gets a group of friends together to remake a twenty year-old Hindi classic through the lens of his own hometown in "Superboys of Malegaon."
Laura's Review: B
India has become surprisingly progressive with their cinematic exports of late, "Superboys of Malegaon" the fourth film in a row to get a major U.S. release (three theatrical, their Oscar submission via Netflix) helmed by a woman. Cowriter (with Varun Grover)/director Reema Kagti expands upon Faiza Ahmad Khan’s 2008 documentary “Supermen of Malegaon" to tell the true rise-fall-rise-fall-and-rise-again tale of Nasir Shaikh and the friends who helped him achieve a dream. Kagti perhaps overreaches in attempting to tell Shaikh's entire story, her front-loaded film facing abrupt pacing issues in its more moving second half, but "Superboys of Malegaon" is nonetheless a satisfying entertainment, members of its large ensemble all getting a chance to shine.
Kagti charts four periods of Nasir's evolution beginning in 1997 when the wedding videographer cannot understand why his scheduling of Charlie Chaplin films is failing to draw appreciative crowds to his father's Prince Video Parlour. One day he has an idea and with older brother Nihal (Gyanendra Tripathi) and several friends gathered around, demonstrates cutting various action scenes together using two VCRs. 'Wall to wall action!' he exclaims, and indeed his 'Four in 1' campaign which mashes up the likes of Jackie Chan and Buster Keaton with inventive cuts proves a huge success. Until, that is, he is raided by police who trash dad's theater and cite him for pirating. Nasir faces a more personal setback when his bid for local girlfriend Malika's hand is turned down in favor of a 'good boy from Mumbai.' Nasir is employed to shoot her wedding. Meanwhile Sabeetha (Muskkaan Jaferi) pines for the young man.
In the small town of Malegaon, introduced with the song 'Why dream of flying high, in Malegaon you will die,' thoughts of aspiring to the Mumbai film industry are quick to be laughed off, but Nasir is aflame with the idea of making his own film. 'A thousand Nasir Shaikhs roam the streets of Mumbai," he is warned, but he has an offbeat idea - a parodic remake a 1970's Indian classic, "Sholay," featuring the townspeople. Queue up a hilarious montage of auditions, the last notable as Nasir's best friend Shafique (Shashank Arora) doesn't get a shot after cafe owner Raju (Abhinav Grover), who's promised to erase Nasir's tab for a role, delights everyone with his reading (he'll go on to consistently muff his lines).
The resulting film becomes a Malegaon smash, but Farogh (Vineet Singh), the screenwriter, is the first to be disappointed in Nasir over the slashing of his script and selling out with product placement. Farogh will pick up and move to Mumbai (a thread Kagti follows which slows down her film) when Nasir reneges on his promise to film Farogh's "Malegaon Detective" to opt for another parody remake. And when Nasir buys himself a vintage motorcycle and tells an audience that his initial film's investment of 30,000 rupees earned 300,000, everyone else will realize they've worked for free to realize his dream. An ill-advised collaboration with playwright Asif Albela (Yash Yogi) will bankrupt Nasir, but a tragic turn for the best friend who's stood by his side throughout will bring the gang back together, the original magic returning alongside a humbled Nasir.
The last, most enjoyable, act follows the events seen in the documentary and it gives Arora a chance to grab the spotlight from the background. Two romances come to fruition as well, that of Nasir for the woman who's always loved him, now his wife in a marriage arranged by his father, her work as a lawyer providing twofold returns for happy endings. Even more satisfying, perhaps, is to watch the relationship grow between the enchanting, worldly and married Tripti (Manjiri Pupala), the professional dancer hired by Nasir for his first film (the only person receiving payment) and Shafique, as genuine as it is unlikely.
The film largely takes place in Malegaon's humble town square and outskirts scouted for filming, Farogh's years in Mumbai mostly relegated to a producer's office. Several spaces are reconfigured along the way, the Prince Video Parlour becoming a restaurant after Nasir goes bankrupt. Costume ranges from humble everyday wear, to low budget movie costumes and Tripti's flashier outfits to ornate wedding gowns. Music is low key traditional. Kagti's biggest achievement is the natural performances she's gotten from her large and diverse ensemble. "Superboys of Malegaon" cannot help but charm.
Robin's Review: B-
Nasir (Adash Gourav) works with his brother in their father’s video parlor in a small northwest Indian town and has dreams of being a big-time Bollywood filmmaker. He gathers his close friends and tells them his idea – remake a classic Indian adventure film and name it after the town in “Superboys of Malegaon.”
As I watched the over-stuffed homage to the enthusiasm of amateur filmmakers, I got the strong vibe of Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland’s “Strike Up the Band (1940)” and its “let’s put on a show!” sensibility. Now, take this and place it in a small town in India in 1997 and Nasir has the filmmaking bug.
His first foray is to combine scenes from different movies, like Chaplin and Bruce Lee, and create a hybrid, 4-in-1. Unfortunately, that is called pirating and his budding career is shut down. Then, with his meager savings of 12000 rupees, he tells his friends that they are going to make movie, a remake “Sholay (1975),” but by Malegaonites and for Malegaonites.
If the point of “Superboys,” inspired by true events, were about a band-of-movie buff-brothers who get it together and make a movie, that would be a fascinating study. Here, though, the filmmakers, led by director Reema Kagti, try to stuff so much into the story – young love, arranged marriage, not enough money, friendship, greed, illness, betrayal – are all there, making the 2hour, 7 minute film seem much longer.
With so much going on in the background, the “let’s put on a show” dynamic falls to the wayside at times in pursuit of other directions. This makes things feel drawn out and distracted me from the original intent. I appreciate the enthusiasm the filmmakers have but a bit of tempering and tightening would have made things better.
Amazon MGM releases "Superboys of Malegaon" in theaters on 2/28/25.
