Genre : Documentary
Running time : 79 minutes
Director : Faiza Ahmad Khan
Actors : Shaikh Nasir, Akram Khan, Farogh Jafri, Shafiq, Shakeel Bharati
“Supermen of Malegaon” is a film about the making of another film “Malegaon ka Superman”. Yes, it is not just the Yash Chopras and the Karan Johars with their vast resources who have the desire to make films. It is also an enthusiast in the small town of Malegaon who wishes to see his dreams come alive on celluloid. Having made several small shorts on a next to nil budget, one of them being a spoof on Sholay called “Malegaon ke Sholay”, self-taught filmmaker Shaikh Nasir is set to attempt his next ambitious project. This time, inspired by Hollywood, it is a spoof on Superman. Faiza Ahmad Khan, the creator of this documentary, chronicles his efforts.
This is great for us, because “Supermen of Malegaon” is a treat to watch. Khan documents the film making effort – true, but more importantly she gives us an insight into the passion that drives wedding videographer Nasir to make a film with his meager budget. Nasir’s film, meant to be a parody, takes it’s cues from Bollywood, which means that it has a hero, heroine and a villain, complete with romance, fight sequences and a song. The hero, because he is Superman has a red-and-blue costume with boxers and cape, stitched by the village tailor. Emblazoned on his chest is a bold M for Malegaon. The hero is played by scrawny powerloom worker Shafique, and the heroine is a non-local actress, because the men of Malegaon won’t let their women work outside the home.
Malegaon is a typical Indian small-town – dusty streets, narrow unpaved roads, poverty writ large on the faces of the children that gather to watch the shoot. A textile producing center with powerloom mills, it offers little in the way of entertainment, but is very fond of Bollywood. Little shops derive titles from Hindi blockbusters and kids name hero and heroines by heart. Nasir’s crew is a motley bunch, piecing together the storyline for their film with audience titillating “hooks” like a bomb blast, but adapting it to Indian surroundings. Thus Superman suffers from pollution induced asthma, and the villain is the King of Thu-thu Gutka (tobacco).
Nasir’s film also has stunts, and Superman flying through the air. To achieve these he, along with using techniques like chroma key technology also makes use of rickshaws, trucks (the beloved “public carrier” of Indian roads) and manpower. Thus we have Superman aka Shafiq, flying through the air in front of a green screen, his body balanced on narrow wooden beams that run through his costume, the whole contraption supported on a rickshaw cart and a bunch of willing hands.
While on the surface this film is light-hearted and slap-sticky, it has undertones which show us the lives of the village folk, the poverty and the quiet desperation of it’s people. While Nasir won’t let his younger brother into film-making because he fears that it will turn him into a swagger filled hero with no trade, and is content to restrict his talents to Malegaon, his scriptwriter Farogh and soundman Akram dream of making it big in Mumbai. This documentary might not be a laughter fest, but it does carry along on an upbeat note, chiefly because of it’s people – the passionate and determined Nasir, the hollow-cheeked, frail-looking Shafiq wanting to act like Amitabh Bachchan, the poet Farogh and the marvelously dramatic Akram. Quite inspiring.
The film itself has a “handheld” feel, as though Khan went from person to person asking questions, probing beneath the surface. The humor like the pathos is an undercurrent, and derives from the often quirky situations Nasir faces while shooting the film to his satisfaction.
This documentary ends with the completion and premiere of “Malegaon ka Superman” at Nasir’s old video parlor. It is received with humongous applause by the village people, a fact that leaves Nasir smiling and excited. And this film, the charming documentary that chronicles the making of “Malegaon ka Superman” has been applauded by the rest of the world. “Supermen of Malegaon” has made the Festival rounds garnering for itself many awards, and has finally hit the theaters in the US. It is distributed by FilmKaravan.
A very interesting watch, I highly recommend it.
