Ronit J

Superboys of Malegaon (2025) Synopsis:

The journey of an aspiring filmmaker as he bands together his group of friends to make a film for his town, Malegaon.

Superboys of Malegaon (2025) Review:

I watched ‘Superman of Malegaon’ in 2012, in my first year of bachelor’s. It was quite a moving documentary, especially for me, an aspiring filmmaker. When I found out that Zoya Akhtar was producing a biographical coming-of-age film about the documentary, I was really intrigued. The team includes some very talented performers and exceptionally talented technicians.

This was bound to break records at the box office, no?

The film follows Nasir, played by Adarsh Gourav. He works in a small movie theatre owned by his family and run by his elder brother, Nihal. As luck would have it, he learns of cutting clips together from a pirated film vendor, and splices the best of multiple films together. However, the success of this ‘4-films-for-the-price-of-1’ offer results in the cops raiding the theatre and shutting their business down. However, the spark of creativity has already set in. Nasir then decides to make his own film with whatever little money they can scrounge. He enlists the help of his friends, writer Farogh (Vineet Kumar Singh), Akram (Anuj Singh Duhan), Irfan (Saqib Ayub) and Shafique (Shashank Arora).

Coming-of-Age in the old days

One of the first things I said to my wife after watching this film was, ‘I doubt Gen Z will understand the sense of achievement that these characters feel on making their film’. Why? Because our smartphones have made videography way too accessible. However, the film is set during a time when even a simple 5-second clip needed tons of planning and careful execution. The characters spend tremendous effort devising solutions, but somewhere along the line, the impact of those efforts feels lost. But then again, filmmaking doesn’t occupy the centre seat of the film’s thematic roster.

As much as the film is about the Malegaon film industry, it is more so of the film industry’s pioneers. At its heart, Superboys of Malegaon is a coming-of-age film where the youth of this small town find creative ways to make a living, which includes making spoofs of popular Bollywood films. As they earn success, every individual deals with it in different ways. They don’t always see eye-to-eye, and Nasir’s hubris does get in the way of his success.

The film is set in the period of the late 90s-late 2000s. While the world was seeing a technology boom, small-town India still had a way to go. Yet, nothing could stop these creatives from following their passion. This relentless drive to achieve their dreams, overcome impossible odds was as inspiring as it was motivating. The overall arc of friendship between the main group is what makes the film feel like a warm hug in the midst of all of life’s chaos.

As many misses as there were hits

Not one of the love stories felt organic. Be it Nasir’s failed romance with Mallika, Nasir’s forced marriage to Shabeena, or even Shafique’s romance with Trupti, they all slowed the film down more than anything. This, I believe, is a failure of character development. You don’t really need either of those love stories to tell the tale of these passionate friends. The film itself is about friendship. It’s about making something out of nothing, a triumph of creativity and brotherhood. The forced love stories only serve to bloat the film and drag down its pacing.

Another aspect I found very much missing was the grassroots of these characters. As great as the performances are, the characters don’t really feel as real as they could have. This is a film set in a small town, but little about the film really reminds you of it. Probably because the film resolves most of their conflicts a little too easily. Plus, we don’t spend enough time on the group’s crafty solutions as we spend on the drama ensuing from Nasir’s success, as well as those pointless love stories I mentioned earlier.

The film is an emotional rollercoaster with strange pacing. The two time skips in the film feel like missed opportunities. Plus, the lack of social commentary, which was present in the documentary, further diminishes the value of this film’s real story. For example, the real-life Shafique died from cancer due to his addiction to chewing tobacco, but the film fails to address that. Instead, it uses Shafique’s cancer as a motivator for the group to come together one last time for a successful venture.

Superboys of Malegaon (2025) Ending Explained (SPOILERS)

Nasir finally makes amends with his friends, and they all get together to fulfil Shafique’s lifelong dream of being a film star. They make Farogh’s script about the hero who fights the ‘gutka king’ (king of chewing tobacco), but with a ‘super’ twist. The film is a resounding success, and the film ends with Shafique seeing himself soar through the skies, living his dreams on the big screen.

Before the credits roll, the film then shows the characters with their real-life counterparts and where they all are at present. However, this is the part where I will urge you to go read about these folks and the Malegaon industry by yourself. While the film touches upon a major chapter of the industry’s history, there is much more to it than what two hours can contain.

Is Superboys of Malegaon (2025) worth watching?

Depends. If you’ve watched the documentary, Superman of Malegaon, there isn’t much that you will find new in the film. In fact, the documentary is a much more nuanced, intimate, and profound exploration of the exact same story. However, if you don’t like documentaries and still want to know the story of Malegaon, the film is a good enough medium to experience it.

In Conclusion:

Superboys of Malegaon (2025) is a beautiful but somewhat flawed film. Much of the drama feels forced, their resolutions too easy, and many of the plot points feel like a drag. The best—and arguably most important—parts of the film are quickly brushed upon as montages.

It is important to note that I have a bias for the documentary, so it was hard for me to not keep comparing. Despite that, I feel Superboys of Malegaon could have been a much better film, especially given the crew behind it.

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Have you watched Superboys of Malegaon (2025)? What did you think about this film? Let me know in the comments below, along with any film recommendations you’d like me to watch/review.

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