Superboys of Malegaon Review: It is Nasir’s Cinema Paradiso – Where hope sings and judgements sleep!

4.5/5

Superboys Of Malegaon: Story: In the heart of Malegaon, Nasir Shaikh (Adarsh Gourav) is a boy the village deems good for nothing. One day, a chance encounter with the idea that VCRs can also be used to edit tapes gravitates him toward filmmaking. Uniting his gang, he begins to make movies, and Mumbai is a far-fetched dream. His dream is not something he would want to barter for anything less substantial. Thus begins the journey of telling stories to an audience that craves art without the clutches of high and low. But life has different plans as Shafique (Shashank Arora) faces a setback, and the guys reunite to make that one final film that lights up the world and silences the destructive critics.

Superboys Of Malegaon Review:

When was the last time you saw the final frame of a movie and walked out of the theatre with hope? The art of making movies about movies is a rare gift that very few filmmakers in the world are bestowed with. There is a certain sense of replicating one's world on the big screen—the good, the bad, the ugly; shortcomings, problems, hypocrisy, and so much more. All of this is done while being unbiased and true to the story, yet making it magical because cinema, at the end of the day, is magic, and that magic is what each viewer survives on. Right in the middle of the noise of formula films emerges Superboys Of Malegaon, a film that breaks the monotony and brings back the beating heart to the screen that had been missing for the longest time.

“Kya cheez banayi hai, aisa lagta hai rooh jannat jaa rahi hai,” says Shafique (Shashank Arora) as he sees an airplane flying high in the sky and aspires to sit in one someday. A young mill worker with dreams of becoming a Bachchan—because who doesn't want to say, “Rishte mein toh hum…,” right? He finds fuel for his dreams in Nasir, a young man in love with moving images. There are some more rogue boys hanging around them. All of them then find filmmaker Reema Kagti, writer Varun Grover, and producer Zoya Akhtar, who weave their tale into a movie that is more about the hope these men have created for generations to come rather than the highest peaks of art—their art—that they have climbed.

What is high art? What is low art? What is art? Is there a set definition? Superboys Of Malegaon, the second film in two years to ask this question after Amar Singh Chamkila, finds itself in 1997, where these boys are struggling to find means to earn and settle. But their love for moving art makes their life a better place—at least in the worlds they respectively imagine in their heads. Writers Varun Grover and Reema Kagti craft this beautiful film based on true events with heart and the ink of relevance. The story is over two decades old, but the struggle is never-ending. Farogh (Vineet Kumar Singh) screams in a scene, “Writer boss hota hai,” and that is the moment the movie becomes personal—not just for the people it is based on but even for those who made it and fought the same battle for years before they could finally go on set and make a movie like this.

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Superboys Of Malegaon has a beating heart and a conscience that is aware of what it wants to say. It is about boys who have found their art in telling parody stories. If Ramesh Sippy sold Basanti with all his might in 1975, nothing would stop Nasir and his gang from selling their parody Basmati with the same conviction. Both have takers, and they should. Such a simple yet strong statement, told with so much humor. Grover's writing shines in every corner as Superboys Of Malegaon smoothly transitions from a biopic to a movement, to a commentary, to a tribute to cinema. It comes from a pen that has written innumerable love letters to cinema—when it tells you Buster Keaton wasn't a mental patient but different, and that gives no one the right to cage his art. Or even when Shafique’s diagnosis has an Anand reference.

Nasir is introduced as a fan of “Art House” as he angrily complains about his town not watching Charlie Chaplin. But when money flows through the so-called “commercial” action dramas, why wouldn’t he take that plunge? The film makes a beautiful commentary about the times we live in—ironically releasing in the same month as Badass Ravi Kumar. The beauty of Superboys Of Malegaon lies in the fact that it does all of this while keeping the emotions alive, and the biggest credit goes to the stellar cast filled with phenomenal talent.

Shashank Arora in the Tiger Baby universe is a beast, and the way he brings Shafique to life is achingly stunning. While everyone has room to vent out, he is always the silent one, hoping Nasir will have something for him someday—until he gets wings and chooses to fly. Arora’s performance has an impact that will stay with me for quite some time. 

Adarsh Gourav's performance as Nasir Shaikh is one of the finest of the year. He explores the character with incredible depth, subtly bringing Nasir to life over the years and making him grow on you without making the effort obvious. Then there’s Vineet Kumar Singh, the voice of the filmmakers and writers shaping this movie. He is the window to what is happening beyond the borders of Malegaon, and that is heartbreaking. Singh does complete justice to Farogh with all he has.

Kudos to the writers for shaping the female characters so beautifully. They aren't just there to develop the men; they have their own voices and stand on their own. The fact that this still feels refreshing in a movie in 2025 says a lot about the direction mainstream cinema has taken. Manjari Pupala, Muskan Jafferi, Anuj Singh Duhan, and Saqib Ayub are all stellar.

Reema Kagti’s direction is a complete shift from what she has done so far. The aesthetics of Superboys Of Malegaon are dream-like. The staging makes this world—one that might not even exist on your maps—feel only a few hours away from Bombay, where dreams are now manufactured. With Varun Grover’s poetic lines and writing, Kagti finds her wings as she shapes the story with all the hope and magic that cinema must have. Add to it Swapnil S. Sonawane and Parnil Vishwasrao’s stunning cinematography, which finds light in every frame. There is a harsh source of light, choreographed to perfection in almost every scene, and it works beautifully because the experiment is visible, tangible, and essential to world-building.

Dear Sachin-Jigar, thank you for making a comeback, and this is the gold-standard work we expect from you. The background music elevates Superboys Of Malegaon to a completely different level, especially in the scene where Nasir goes through heartbreak.

Superboys Of Malegaon: Final Verdict:

Beauty exists in every corner of Reema Kagti, Varun Grover, and the team’s love letter to cinema as they unfold a biographical drama that refuses to be just a biopic. Watch this movie on the biggest screen possible. Let your love for films—your kind of films—take over, and never fall out of the magic of cinema, no matter what!

Superboys Of Malegaon is set for theatrical release by Amazon MGM Studios,Tiger Baby, and Excel Entertainment on February 28, 2025. Stay tuned to OTTplay for more information on this and everything else from the world of streaming and films.

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