THE STORY – It’s 1997, and movie-mad Nasir is certain he’s destined for cinematic greatness, but great cinema never came out of his humdrum hometown of Malegaon. Nasir gets his first taste of success screening mashups of Buster Keaton and Jackie Chan action sequences, leading him toward a bright idea: if Malegaon moviegoers love revisiting the classics, wouldn’t they flock to see classics reimagined on their own turf? Borrowing gear from a wedding videographer and assembling a cast and crew of locals, Nasir sets out to remake Ramesh Sippy’s beloved 1975 film Sholay. Nasir’s campy, go-for-broke vision is a regional smash, and a glittering new road seems to open before him. But his journey will prove arduous, requiring him to check his ego and recognize that the friendships that helped him start making movies were essential to their magic.
THE CAST – Adarsh Gourav, Vineet Kumar Singh & Shashank Arora
THE TEAM – Reema Kagti (Director) & Varun Grover (Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 127 Minutes
Cinema is so often made by dreamers, those special souls who yearn for something beyond their humble upbringing and have the vision to turn it into art. Nasir Shaikh (Adarsh Gourav) was one of those dreamers. He ran a small store and makeshift cinema in his hometown of Maleagon, where everyone knows everyone, and they all insert themselves into each other’s business. Bored and inspired by seeing a video copier for the first time, he starts editing montages of classic films together and screening them as almost new narrative features. Audiences love them, and Nasir gets the ambitious idea to completely remake the Indian classic “Sholay,” with equipment from the local wedding photographer and random town members pitching in as actors, set builders, light riggers, and costumers.
To everyone’s surprise, it’s popular not just in Malegaon but on a regional circuit, eventually propelling Nasir to a certain level of renown. But as he ascends the ladder of fame, will he remember the people who helped him and the town that made him?
“Superboys of Malegaon,” based on the documentary “Supermen of Malegaon,” opens with a burst of energy that primes the audience for a fun ride. And fun it most definitely is, at least for a while. Director Reema Kagti mirrors the emotions of her characters a bit too much with her stylistic choices, keeping the energy at high levels when they’re caught in the rush of creativity and slowing to a more deliberate pace when the story becomes more about their issues with each other. This wouldn’t be so much of a problem if Kagti and Varun Grover’s screenplay spent more time on the making of Nasir’s films, which accounts for the vast majority of the film’s strongest moments. Unfortunately, in the name of capturing the vibrancy and chaos of amateur film productions, much of this part of the story is relegated to montages and very short scenes. But all of them move swiftly and entertainingly, backed by a pulsing score that will have one bouncing in one’s seat.
The bulk of the film, however, focuses on the period after “Malegaon’s Sholay,” when Nasir has seemingly, largely, abandoned his hometown. A dramatic turn of events brings him back to make another film with his old friends, but the tension between them hangs like a shroud over the joy they share, muting the audience’s enjoyment. Had the film adopted a similarly deliberate pace during the opening act, spending more time with the characters as they create together, the film wouldn’t feel so shallow in its last act. The problems encountered and lessons learned feel generic (even if taken directly from real life), which is a disappointment since the film otherwise has a tremendous sense of time and place. The richly detailed sets and cleverly realized amateur filming techniques are the only things that give the film a sense of personality. While the cast does good work with what they’re given, the screenplay’s pat sermonizing about integrity, community, and creativity gets in the way of its deeply rooted sincerity. It’s sweet but not impactful; it’s moving but not profound. “Superboys of Malegaon” is good enough, but even the little bit we see of Nasir’s films is enough to know that there’s a much better film to be made of the material. As it is, it’s a nice-looking surface that lacks the depth to make it as memorable as the films that it’s about.
