Supermen of Malegaon Review : Men of Steel

We all have that one friend who wants to make films.

That one friend who, when we sit down to drink, tells us concepts, and story ideas, and then longingly wishes that he had the resources to make his film. That one film that will give him his break. We all nodded in agreement, thinking ‘Itna talent hai bande mein, isko ek mauka milna chahiye’.

And then we order another large.

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Malegaon is a small village situated about 300 kilometers from Mumbai. There isn’t anything especially special about the place – largely dependent on textile looms and suffering from long power cuts, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between Malegaon and any other small town in India.

Till a film releases, that is.

Malegaon is crazy about films. And Nazir Sheikh is its most popular filmmaker.

Having taught himself to make two earlier films, local rip offs of Sholay and Shaan, Sheikh sets out to make his magnum opus – Superman. Sheikh writes his scripts, does the screenplay, works on the costumes, sets, and produces his films.

He is ably supported by Lex Luthor who edits the films, adds the music, and writes the dialogues.

And then there is the Superman himself – Shaikh Shafique – a loom worker who takes leave from work to act in the film. A Superman who dances with the kids, shoots with the village, and saves the village from the dangers of tobacco. The man who has to get married in the middle of the shoot, disrupting the whole process.

Supermen of Malegaon is a kick in the balls to everybody who complains about funds.

What Malegaon lacks in funds and expertise, they make up with sheer ingenuity and passion. The localisation of the story – how Superman is suffering from cough because he flies in the polluted air, his fears while jumping into a pond to save a child, and the songs he dances to with his lady love in a garden –  there are moments of sheer brilliance.

Like when the tiny handycam they shoot with, falls into a gutter. And Superman is stranded on a tyre in a lake, and paddles himself to the coast. Or when the local daily publishes his paper, calling him ‘Spiderman’.

In spite of being a charming story in itself, Supermen of Malegaon is also the personal story of all the people involved. People who come together to make something for the village. And the whole village helps them shoot the film, which they will all watch.

I found Martin Scorsese’s Hugo underwhelming. Of all the films made on films, there is Cinema Paradiso, Burton’s Ed Wood, and Truffaut’s Day for Night made an impact on me. But they were all foreign films – about films of a different culture.

If there was a tribute to filmmaking in India, it has to be Supermen of Malegaon.

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We all have that friend who wants to be a filmmaker.

Next time, ask him to shut the fuck up, and watch this film on YouTube.