Malegaon’s Superman to Fly Again

Supermen of Malegaon traces the making of a low-budget but much-talked about movie,Yeh Hai Malegaon Ka Superman. The latter was a super-hero spoof movie made in 2009 on a budget of Rs 1 lakh.

Malegaon,a powerloom town of Maharashtra,is home to a unique film industry. It produces low-budget films and spoofs of popular Bollywood and Hollywood films. Having read up on the place,the documentary makers knew what to expect when they heard of films such as Malegaon Ka Ghajani,Malegaon Ki Shaan and Malegaon Ke Sholay. “But serious involvement of people came as a bit of a surprise to us,” says Khan. “Many of those involved in the process had daily jobs as mechanics and carpenters but reserved their weekends for filmmaking,” adds the director.

Made in 2008,Supermen of Malegaon showcases the town’s people coming together to film Yeh Hai Malegaon Ka Superman. Shortly after it was completed,Shafique Shaikh,the lead actor of the film,lost a battle to cancer. The documentary on the making of his last film has won awards at several film festivals across the world including Indian Film Festival in Los Angeles,Silverdocs Documentary Festival and the Asian Film Festival,Rome.

The film will be released by PVR Cinemas on June 29. The documentary will also be screened at Prithvi House,Mumbai,on May 28.