Superboys of Malegaon (TIFF)

A new film from India adapts the true story of a group of young Indian men whose passion for film kickstarts a mini-film industry in their small town. Having its world premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival, the compelling and moving Superboys of Malegaon celebrates how their filmmaking passions change their lives and their community.

This is Indian co-writer/director Reema Kagti’s first directorial effort since 2018. However, she has written some of Bollywood’s biggest hits in recent years, including Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and TV’s Made in Heaven. Her writing often explores characters experiencing existential crises that manifest in fascinating ways. Here, it’s about a protagonist whose dreams of becoming a filmmaker force him to take action and make the impossible happen. (Varun Grover also wrote the screenplay.)

Adarsh Gourav plays Nasir Shaikh, a cinephile who runs a struggling movie theater in the small town of Malegaon in 1997 rural western India. Not satisfied with just screening movies, Nasir decides to make his own, using local talent and instantly turning the town abuzz with the allure of show business. Thus begins the true story of how Nasir and his group of friends fulfill their dreams and inspire others.

Supporting Gourav is Vineet Kumar Singh, the idealistic artistic writer to Nasir’s edgy director. Shashank Arora is wonderful as Nasir’s meek, ride-or-die best friend, supportive of everything Nasir does. The friends recruit other cinephiles in their quest to remake one of Bollywood’s biggest hits, Sholay, into their own homegrown local version. Superboys of Malegaon focuses on these three and their individual journeys as they work together, sacrificing all else to see their vision realized on the big screen, even at the expense of their friendships.

As success follows, the boys’ ideas and motivations behind this passion project begin to put them at odds with one another. On one hand, Nasir becomes the face of their success, while Singh’s writer is sidelined, his creative input dismissed, thus showing how the politics of show business can rear its ugly head, even in the small town of Malegaon. Kagti’s montages of guerrilla or indie filmmaking showcase her love of the craft. These sequences are some of the film’s best, set to amazing song choices and score.

In many ways, the movie examines the commercialization of art and the compromises that come with it. Kagti does this organically, crafting believable characters in dire circumstances. While the movie has a larger message of hope and following your dreams, it also comments on how corporate greed kills creativity, a recurring theme in Kagti’s screenplays, such as Gully Boy, Dil Dhadakne Do, and The Archies. However, this time, the perspective presents art thriving on a smaller scale.

Superboys of Malegaon captures the passion for filmmaking that transcends borders, cultures, and economic situations. The real-life story is beautifully brought to the screen through subtle but powerful performances, and Kagti’s direction creates a compelling narrative with fleshed-out characters. It instantly becomes a crowd-pleasing addition to the subgenre of movies about movies.

The U.S. theatrical release of Superboys of Malegaon is scheduled for early 2025.