The film based on real incidents follows the group of friends who decide to bring real cinema to their small town after realising Mumbai is out of their reach. Directed by Reema Kagti, the film focuses on their progress as filmmakers but also their friendship. It keeps the film rounded and about the people which the story is meant to be about than the industry. However, through out the run time, the film does stray from the point long enough for the ending to feel out of place. In the end, it is the performances that win.
The film begins with the story of a group of young boys in Malegaon who would drop everything to get a glimpse of the stars on the big screen. While one of them runs a theater, another is part of a wedding video team, one is a writer and more. However, not all of them are working towards their career is films but still are obsessed with the stories just as much. Nasir when asked to buy film reels for the theatre finds out how to make copies and decides to make his own cut of action comedies to show at his theatre. They become an instant hit in his town but are shut down because of piracy.
It gets Nasir motivated to make their own movies and show the town what real cinema should be like. Without the support of family, Nasir takes it upon himself to work on the film and gets his friends to join in as writers, actors and crew. Instead of working on a new story, his parodies on Mumbai’s hits like Sholay and Shaan continue to rake in big money. But the fame and money also ends up with bigger issues surfacing among friends.
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The group splits up and life moves on until, one of their own needs help. In times of need, how they come together to make their dreams come true is the rest of the story that brings out the best from Adarsh Gourav, Shashank Arora and more. While Adarsh plays Nasir, the filmmaker, Shashank plays his loyal friend who dreams of becoming a star, and in the end its his friend who helps him bring his dreams to life. Vineet Kumar Singh as the writer who dedicated his life to the art despite feeling underappreciated speaks wonders into his character and the state of the industry.
Maybe, unintentionally but the film does spend quite the time developing how things are behind the scenes in the industry and used to be in the 90s, early 2000s and so on. It does trail away from the friend’s dynamics breaking the concept, but towards the last 20 minutes of the film, the story comes back to the crux of their friends and how films brought them back together. It is also in the last hour of the film that the performances shine the most.
Despite the commercial treatment of the film, Reema Kagti’s direction keeps the film grounded in Malegoan and the dialect incorporated into the film is the biggest contributor. The sets and locations add a charm to the performances, along with the screenplay by Varun Grover.
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Overall, Superboys of Malegoan is a film about love for cinema and the urge to become part of something unreal and bigger. And director Reema Kagti justifies the same with an honest represtnation of the real life characters.
Cover artwork by Patrick Gawande/Mashable India