Review: ‘Superboys of Malegaon,’ starring Adarsh Gourav, Vineet Kumar Singh, Shashank Arora and Anuj Singh Duhan

March 4, 2025

by Carla Hay

“Superboys of Malegaon”

Directed by Reema Kagti

Hindi with subtitles

Culture Representation: Taking place in the Indian cities of Malegaon and Mumbai, from 1997 to 2010, the comedy film “Reema Kagti” (based on true events) features an all-Asian cast of characters representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: A video store worker decides to become a filmmaker and enlists some of his friends to help make their own independent films, but some members of the group have conflicts over creative control and decision making.

Culture Audience: “Superboys of Malegaon” will appeal mainly to people who are interested in watching a well-acted comedy/drama about independent filmmakers who live and work in small cities.

The movie is a bit too long, but the comedy/drama “Superboys of Malegaon: is a compelling roller coaster ride for anyone who has a passion for movies. This story about independent filmmaker friends can be inspiring, even if it takes some formulaic turns. “Super Boys of Malegaon” isn’t just about filmmaking. The story’s bigger message is about valuing friendships and teamwork in co-worker situations.

Directed by Reema Kagti and written by Varun Grover, “Superboys of Malegaon” is based on a true story and inspired by the 2012 documentary “Supermen of Malegaon,” directed by Faiza Ahmad Khan. “Supermen of Malegaon” was originally filmed to be a 2008 TV special for Singapore TV but it wasn’t released in Indian cinemas until 2021. “Superboys of Malegaon” had its world premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival.

“Superboys of Malegaon” takes place from 1997 to 2010, mostly in the small city of Malegaon, India. The city is so small, it doesn’t have a movie theater. The closest thing to a movie theater that Malegaon has is a room inside a video store, where people pay money to watch old movies that are played on a VCR. The movie is told in chronological order and starts in 1997.

To entice more people to go to these movie exhibitions, an enterprising employee at the store named Nasir Shaikh (played by Adarsh Gourav) decides to compile clips from old movies starring Charlie Chaplin and Bruce Lee and make them into comedy action films. The video store eventually gets raided and smashed up by local police for copyright violations for these illegal movie exhibitions. The raid motivates Nasir and some of his movie-enthusiast pals to join forces to make their own independent films that they can show in Malegaon and possibly elsewhere.

Here are the people who are on the filmmaking team, which operates under the company name S.N. Films:

• Nasir Shaikh takes the role of director and producer for all of the movies that they make. He has a very clear sense of what he wants, which sometimes clashes with what other people on the team want. Nasir finds out how difficult it can be to get financing for an independent film. He supplements his income by being a videographer for events, such as weddings.
• Shafique Shaikh (played by Shashank Arora), no relation to Nasir, is Nasir’s best friend, who has a day job as a power loom employee at clothing mill. Naturally, Shafique is the most loyal to Nasir out of all of the members of the group. Shafique is easygoing, sweet-natured, and is as helpful as he can be as a crew member and as an actor.
• Farogh Jaferi (played by Vineet Singh) is a ambitious screenwriter who has insecurities because his unnamed father (played by Athar Nawaaz) and unnamed stepmother (played by Kavita Pais) do not approve of this career choice. Foragh’s father tells Foragh: “You’re not a writer. You’re an oddball.” Farogh is the team member who clashes with Nasir the most.
• Akram Khan (played by Anuj Duhan) is the team’s cinematographer and casting director. Akhram works as a photographer as his day job. He is hard-working but sometimes gets frustrated by Shafique’s tendency to be too bossy and too dismissive of other people’s ideas.
• Irfan Ilyas (played by Saquib Ayub) is the main actor of the group. He is tall, good-looking and usually portrays a character who is a dashing hero in the team’s movies. Irfan has an adventurous personality and helps out with various crew duties.
• Aleem Tahir (played by Pallav Singh) is a sturdy worker who helps out with various crew duties. Aleem has a day job working as a school teacher. He often stays in the background, but he’s not afraid to speak his mind if he disagrees with something or has his own ideas.

The only woman who becomes a consistent colleague to this team is Trupti (played by Manjiri Pupala), who is hired to act in multiple movies for S.N. Films. When the team first starts making movies, Akhram has difficulty finding any local women to agree to be actresses in the film because in many conservative households, a women becoming an actress was considered sinful and disreputable.

However, Nasir meets Trupti by chance when they are both standing near each other at a food hall serving table. Nasir tells her about the movie and auditions her on the spot. Trupti, who is unhappily married and has a toddler son, is a bit of a diva because she expects to be treated like a big-budget movie star on the team’s low-budget independent films, even though she’s an inexperienced actress.

Trupti is in for a rude awakening on the first day she has to shoot her scenes: There’s no one to do her hair and makeup, so she pouts and complains that she has to do her own hair and makeup for the movie. For filming that takes place outdoors, she expects a trailer, so she gripes when she sees she’s not going to get that accommodation either.

Eventually, Trupti learns to deal with the ultra-low-budget filmmaking of S.N. Films. She continues to work with the team and becomes one of S.N. Films’ most loyal cast members. And a lot of her devotion has to do with Trupti and Shafique having a growing attraction to each other.

Nasir decides that S.N. Films’ first movie will be titled “Malegaon Ke Sholay” (which means “Sholay of Malegaon” in Hindi), a parody of the 1975 action film “Sholay.” The movie is an immediate hit in Malegaon. S.N. Films then makes several other parody films.

But with success come jealousy and power struggles. Farogh thinks Nasir is taking Farogh for granted. Farogh also repeatedly tells Nasir that S.N. Films should branch out and do movies based on original screenplays that Farogh wants to write.

Nasir disagrees and wants to continue to do movies based on adapted screenplays. Nasir is actively pursuing a business deal with a famous playwright named Asif Albela (played by Yash Yogendra) to make one of Asif’s plays into a movie. Nasir also gets caught up in chasing even more success, sometimes at the expense of forgetting or sidelining some of the team mates who helped Nasir along the way.

In the beginning of the movie, Nasir has a steady girlfriend named Mallika (played by Riddhi Kumar), who is very supportive of Nasir’s filmmaking. Nasir and Mallika are very much in love but something happens that dramatically changes their relationship. A woman named Shabeena (played by Muskkaan Jaferi) also play an important role in Nasir’s life.

“Superboys of Malegaon” clocks in at 131 minutes, but the story could’ve been told in 90 minutes or less because some of the scenes are repetitive in their purpose of showing behind-the-scenes conflicts. However, all of the cast members’ performances are among the highlghts of the film. Gourav is the obvious standout because Nasir is the main protagonist, who is a flawed but entirely believable.

“Superboys of Malegaon” is the type of movie that goes through a wide range of emotional arcs. The last 30 minutes go into tearjerker territory, but it’s not mawkish. Ultimately, “Superboys of Malegaon” is a love letter to friendship in filmmaking and all the joy and heartbreak that can come with it.

Amazon MGM Studios released “Superboys of Malegaon” in select U.S. cinemas and in India on February 28, 2025.