Superboys of Malegaon is more than a film about filmmaking. It is designed as a love letter to Bollywood and a love triangle between audiences, films and filmmakers. There is so much to marvel at and so much subtext that is not highlighted but left for us to discern. Like the fact that it has an ensemble of talented actors playing Muslim male characters, but none of these men are sidekicks, a bearded chacha, or token ‘patriotic’ Muslims in cop films that cop out on a script. These men are artists, lovers, friends, and filmmakers. Most importantly, they are men whose dreams defied their limitations. But as I watched the movie, I realised that though the film is set between 1997 and 2011, the conflicts and thematic elements of the film are relevant to the turmoil Bollywood is going through even today. 
Malegaon may be far from Mumbai, but that has not reduced the city’s passion for cinema. From Mithun Chakravarty-inspired hairstyles and wall art to tea stall owners with a love for acting, cinema unites, entertains and fans creative fires in the by lanes of a small town. Nasir (Adarsh Gourav) is a true cinema buff. He enjoys watching a ‘massy’ film like Judwaa but screens films by Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin in his family-owned video parlour. Keaton and Chaplin, both cinematic greats, don’t have too many takers in Malegaon, which annoys Nasir’s elder brother Nihal (Gyanendra Tripathi). He compares the footfall to a theatre next door screening Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, a film that was released in 1995. Nasir argues that he is introducing the residents of Malegaon to iconic artists like Keaton and Chaplin in the hope that it will broaden the population’s cinematic horizons. Their arguments and the debate between commerce and creative exploration is a conflict plaguing Bollywood more than ever today. DDLJ is representative of massy films that attract a larger audience, but does that mean we don’t make room for a Keaton, a Chaplin, or anyone else interpreting filmmaking differently? When restrictions grow and ideas are censored before fruition, we suffer both monetarily and creatively.
When Nasir experiments with combining Western films through clever editing, he is shut down by the local police, who accuse him of piracy. They then accept a bribe, which ironically is also a crime, and take away what is potentially a pirated CD of Gupt. The ‘policing’ of Nasir’s creativity is an interesting interpretation of the current political climate and our blossoming tribe of social media watchdogs who light fires and create digital meltdowns. On the one hand, we talk about wanting diversity in cinema, but on the other hand, we have never been easier to offend or more reluctant to sample something new in theatres. There seems to be this strange distinction in our minds where any movie that does not involve a certain visual treatment, scale, or perhaps the fortune of being a sequel, need not be seen in theatres. While cinema has often been segregated into commercial and art cinema, or mainstream and offbeat films for decades, the disparity between the two has never been as grave as it is today. When did we create monetary benchmarks to judge the success or significance of a film? Are we aiming to create a legacy of ideas and artistic skill or profitable look-alikes?
The entourage culture in Bollywood gets a hat tip, too. As they start casting for their first parody film, Trupti (Manjiri Pupala) agrees to play the leading lady, but she has a long list of demands and a hefty per-day fee. In the meantime, his friends, who are all strapped for cash, are working with Nasir for free. While a part of me was thrilled to see a woman negotiate her worth, I couldn’t help but chuckle at how her pricey behaviour spoke to the ongoing concern about entourage costs in Bollywood. Especially since having a dozen people hovering around can’t seem to ensure actual acting skills or a successful film.
READ MORE: ‘Superboys of Malegaon is about the power of cinema’: Reema Kagti
While it addresses censorship, profitability versus the pursuit of greatness and access to good cinema, Superboys of Malegaon specially highlights the issue of respecting and giving credit to the artists who work behind the scenes or play supporting roles in the process of making a film. Nasir’s friends support him unconditionally, but an unequal distribution of the rewards, both monetary and something more abstract like fame, causes rifts and resentment. While his brother’s refusal to finance his first film angers Nasir, the tables turn when he becomes risk-averse after it does well. When Farogh (Vineet Kumar Singh) who has written the first parody suggests working on an original idea, Nasir wants to play it safe and keep doing more of the same thing. Success then becomes a curse because it replaces the joy of filmmaking with the focus on making money.
The now iconic line ‘Writer baap hota hain’ has never been more relevant. Only a few weeks ago, music composers and lyricists signed an MOU to ensure fair contracts, credit and remuneration from producers and music companies. Varun Grover, who has written the screenplay and co-written the dialogues of Superboys of Malegaon, has been a vocal critic of how writers and lyricists are treated in Bollywood. Farogh’s anguish and anger as a struggling writer, give voice to the angst felt by an entire community of artists who create the bedrock of any good film.
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Cinema is created through marrying technology, science (light and sound) and our need for catharsis through storytelling. You can use the techniques and the technology to tell any story you want, making it as generic or distinct as possible. There is madness, method, magic and hopefully, money, but if creators don’t have the right intent or audiences are reluctant to give diverse stories a fair chance, Bollywood will continue to flounder. The box office may be the baap for now, but if we don’t give up our narrow-minded approach to film viewing and filmmaking, or don’t give those behind the scenes as much importance as those in them, we will be left with nothing to watch but re-releases and star-driven ego-projects.