Malegaon, in western India, has a thriving budget film industry
The bright lights of the British capital are a world
away from Malegaon, a down-at-heel textile town in the backwaters
of Maharashtra state in western India.
But the two have come together at this year's London Film Festival,
where the remarkable story of Malegaon's unlikely film industry success has had its
European premiere.
"Superboys of Malegaon", by director and producer Reema Kagti, follows the true story of Shaikh Nasir and his friends and their no-budget parodies of Bollywood and Hollywood classics such as "Sholay" and "Superman".
With DIY filmmaking techniques, amateur actors and the unique flavour of local dialect and comedy, his
works became instant local hits.
They then gained international recognition with the release of a 2008 documentary of their work, "Supermen of Malegaon".
Malegaon's links to the giant Hindi-language film industry, though,
are not so distant. By a twist of fate, co-producer Zoya Akhtar's father Javed Akhtar wrote "Sholay", which inspired Nasir's
passion for filmmaking.
"It's a very, very big story from a very small town in India",
Akhtar told AFP in an interview. "It tells you how connected you are, especially with cinema."
"Nasir's influences and my influences are very similar", added Kagti.
"So it was really like a privilege to be able to give a hat tip to so many people, so many actors, so much of the Indian film industry."
- 'Dream factory' -
"Superboys" is an ode to the determination of Nasir, played by Adarsh
Gourav, who featured in the Oscar-nominated film adaptation of Aravind Adiga's 2008 Booker Prize-winning
novel "The White Tiger".
In Malegaon, some 300 kilometres (185 miles) from
India's entertainment capital Mumbai, video parlours -- small picture
houses -- are a haven for labourers keen to
escape the daily slog of industrial weaving looms.
Reema Kagti and Zoya Akhtar's new film 'Superboys of Malegaon'
charts the industry's success
Nasir's films offer comedic respite and a chance to see their town portrayed on the big screen, said Kagti.
"Every person who was part of that film has been immortalised and has been made into a hero of sorts, and it's given them a reason to not just exist but to celebrate life," added Gourav.
With no budget and little experience beyond his love for films and gigs as a wedding videographer, Nasir has to improvise and use homespun techniques to
make movies.
While filming the Superman spoof, the hero dresses in comical red shorts with drawstrings dangling out,
flying with the help of wacky green-screen contraptions
while Nasir films tracking shots by balancing on the
back of a truck hurtling down a bumpy road.
- Global audience -
"Superboys" touches upon everything from poverty to love,
never straying far from Nasir's unwavering belief in the
power of a camera -- and some imagination -- to turn the mundane
into something extraordinary.
"The story is so universal that we feel there is a global audience," said
executive producer Ritesh Sidhwani.
'Mollywood' films are made on a shoestring budget and often spoof Bollywood or Hollywood classics
The film has already been shown at the Toronto International Film
Festival and with its screening in London, Sidhwani hopes
it will attract audiences beyond the Indian diaspora.
Nasir's homemade local films succeeded in creating a place in India's sometimes
impenetrable film industry for Malegaon.
Akhtar said it is a lesson for everyone, particularly in a world of smartphones,
where everyone can be a film-maker.
"People who watch this film will realise that they don't need to wait for a big break... They can just take that step," she added.
Today, "Mollywood" as it is sometimes called, lives on, with some
actors from the original films continuing in Nasir's footsteps, sharing their DIY creations on platforms such as YouTube.
"That industry is now a part of Indian cinema's history", said Akhtar.
In "Superboys", the writer of the spoofs, Farogh,
tells Nasir: "You told our stories, in our own voices... You gave us dreamers a place in history."
"In the history of Indian cinema, you've added a page for Malegaon."
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