Superman of Malegon

Superman of Malegaon - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermen_of_Malegaon
Directed by Faiza Ahmed Khan.

Superman of Malegaon is a documentary covering the making of a film called Malegaon ka Superman. Malegaon is a small town in Maharashtra obsessed with films. Shaikh Nasir is a local director who wants to adapt popular movies/genre into the local context of Malegaon. Previous, he had made Sholay in Malegaon and his latest project was Malegaon ka Superman. Made in a shoestring budget of 1Lakh Rupees, Malegaon ka superman has all the special effects expected in a Superman movie. Malegaon's Superman is seen flying above the town, saving innocent people, fighting the local goons, a romantic relationship with a local girl and showing her around while flying.

To rate a movie like Superman of Malegaon is a superfluous exercise. It is equivalent to rate first time marathon finish of any runner, or to rate the beauty of natural canyons, or to review home cooked food. They are not made for reviews, they don't give a damn about ratings. There are some things that are made out of heart/nature.  These things serve a higher purpose, a calling that has come from within; these people have surpassed all expectations because there were none; they have borne pain, sacrificed their lives for it. There is an inherent passion in their work, an energy whose potential is unlimited and finally a will that will not rest until it is done in a way they want it to be. For these works exist just because these people wanted to make them and everything else just happened along the way.

Superman of Malegaon beautifully captures the process behind the creation of such an effort. The people behind Malegaon ka Superman are not professional artists, instead a tailor is a costume designer, a carpenter is set director, the local orchestra provides background score and a wedding videography maker is the cameraman, director and the editor. The movie is produced by these people, their families and friends. Story writing is a collective process, generally written during night when everyone has finished their daily duties which is how they manage their day to day lives.

Creativity comes best when you have nothing. The special effects with Superman flying, flying over Malegaon, flying while chasing an Auto, and flying with his love interest. These are no easy tasks but as they go about doing them, you just marvel at their process. Some of the techniques were used in early Kurusawa films before they became mainstream, these guys are creative at that level.

The documentary shines as it is able to reflect the passion of these small town people. In all the domain of arts, the final product conceals the effort that has gone in making it. In rare cases only, the process is equally important as the outcome. In this case the making is much more interesting, inspiring and liberating than the actual movie itself. How many movies can boast such a claim? I am pretty sure you can count them in your fingers.

Watch Superman of Malegaon, but its dvd and share it with your friends. The spirit is indeed infectious.