Tag: Reema Kagti

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Superboys of Malegaon : A solid emotional roller coaster

Reema Kagti’s ‘Superboys of Malegaon’ is an entertaining love letter to the magic of cinema, at the same time it also sheds light on important topics like art versus commerce and the importance of writers.
Superboys of Malegaon (Hindi), 28-02-2025, Comedy, Drama, 2 hours 7 minutes, U/A, Theatre
  • Main Cast: Adarsh Gaurav, Vineet Kumar Singh, Shashanka Arora, Anuj Singh Dahan, Saqib Ayub, Manjari Pupala, and Muskkaan Jafferi
  • Director: Reema Kagti
  • Producer: Zoya Akhtar, Reema Kagti, Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani
  • Music Director: Sachin- Jigar
  • Cinematography: Swapnil S Sonawane
  • Rating: 4/5

Malegaon is a town burdened by poverty, communal tensions, and hardships, and Sheikh Nasir, a local man, brings joy to the town by creating his own films.

Starting with a spoof of the classic Sholay, along with his friends, Nasir made movies that entertained the community, offering a temporary escape from their challenges.

The 2008 documentary, Supermen of Malegaon, by Faiza Ahmed, highlighted the struggles of Malegaon residents.

Synopsis

And now, Reema Kagti’s Superboys of Malegaon is based on director Sheikh Nasir, with Adarsh Gaurav playing the lead role. It is set in 1994.

Nasir’s elder brother owns a movie parlour, where English movies are often shown, but they don’t sell many tickets. He warns Nasir that English films will no longer be screened.

Adarsh Gaurav in Superboys of Malegaon
Adarsh Gaurav in ‘Superboys of Malegaon’. (X)

While purchasing a pirated copy of Aamir Khan’s blockbuster Raja Hindustani, Nasir encounters a VCR tape seller who introduces him to the magic of film editing.

This sparks an idea in Nasir’s mind, and he begins splicing slapstick comedy sequences from Chaplin with Kung Fu action scenes. This combination makes his parlour a huge success, but the joy is short-lived after an anti-piracy raid.

Deciding enough is enough, Nasir boldly chooses to make homegrown films with the support of his friends. The rest of the story focuses on both their professional and personal journeys.

What works

Shashank Arora in Superboys of Malegaon
Shashank Arora in ‘Superboys of Malegaon’. (X)

A major strength of Superboys of Malegaon is how Reema Kagti has captured the magic of movies through the central characters. For these super boys, watching a movie makes their real-life situations more bearable. The movie opens with these guys somehow going through everyday turmoil and then rushing to get the best seats so that they can forget about the everyday drudgery.

When one of the friends is diagnosed with a disease called cell carcinoma the doctor breaks the news by saying “Wahi jo Anand me Rajesh Khanna ko Hua tha.”  Similarly when Nasir talks to his wife about returning the money she simply says I don’t want money, just give me the credit of producer.

Cinema is what drives these super boys. A major reason for them reuniting again after a huge upheaval is cinema as well. Cinema is what gives them and the town of Malageon its distinct identity.

Breaking the stereotypes

Superboys of Malageon is also refreshing in how it places working-class Muslims at the centre of the plot. In the recent past, we have seen a lot of jingoism in the way Muslims have been presented.

A still from the film Superboys of Malegaon
A still from the film ‘Superboys of Malegaon’. (X)

But here Reema Kagti along with the writer Varun Grover shatters those stereotypes by focusing on the everyday lives of working-class Muslims.

The movie also does a wonderful job of showcasing the struggles of a writer through a fabulous Vineet Kumar Singh.

There is a hugely poignant moment when Vineet Kumar’s character Farogh says “Writer baap hota hai”. This portion may come across as an isolated scene but the undertones of what Reema Kagti and Varun Grover want to say come across strongly.

Mention must also be made of how the plot dwells into the struggles of balancing artistic vision with fewer compromises.

The camaraderie between the central characters and how it celebrates their friendship through the ups and downs is a sheer delight to watch as well. There are moments in the movie which make the viewer smile as well making them moist.

Strong performances

Another major backbone of the movie is the towering performances starting from a stellar Adarsh Gaurav. Adarsh pulls off the various shades with absolute finesse.

Characters in Superboys of Malegaon
Characters in ‘Superboys of Malegaon’. (X)

He does a very fine job in capturing the passion of Nasir, there are occasions where Nasir comes across as both insecure and selfish leading to a downfall. Adarsh nails the grey shades too.

Vineet Kumar Singh as Farogh does an excellent job of representing the struggles of an aspiring writer who eventually finds recognition. Shashank Arora plays the role of Shafique in an understated yet very impactful manner.

For a lot of the movie, Shafique comes across as a reticent man with aspirations of seeing himself as a hero, his dream eventually comes true making the viewers clap.

The women get limited scope, still, Muskkaan Jafferi is solid as Nasir’s lawyer life. Their romantic moments in the second half bring a smile to the viewers’ faces.

Manjiri Pupala stands out as a local performer who gets cast for the role of Basmati in Nasir’s version of Sholay’s Basanti.

She does a very good job of portraying the inner strength of an abused housewife. The conversations between her and Shashank are wonderful to watch, making the viewers wish things had panned out differently.

Swapnil S Sonawne’s cinematography is also of a very high standard. He captures the place of Malegeon and its local aesthetics wonderfully.

There is a lived-in feel that effortlessly transports the viewers. Sachin Jigar’s music elevates the emotions, particularly in the scenes of heartbreak and triumph.

Final take

To sum it up Superboys of Malegaon is highly recommended. Don’t miss it.

(Views expressed here are personal, edited by Sumavarsha)

https://thesouthfirst.com/entertainment/superboys-of-malegaon-movie-review/

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Dahaad: A Gripping Thriller That Goes Much Beyond The Usual Police Procedural

Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti script a serial-killer story that also looks at important social issues plaguing our society.

Dahaad (Hindi)
  • Cast: Sonakshi Sinha, Gulshan Devaiah, Vijay Varma, Sohum Shah and others
  • Directors: Reema Kagti and Ruchika Oberoi
  • Music: Gaurav Raina Tarana Marwah
  • No. of episodes: 8
  • OTT platform: Amazon Prime

Zoya Akhtar has created a niche for herself in the industry with her strong storytelling skills; whether it is stories about the elite (Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and Dil Dhadakne Do) or the underdogs (Luck By Chance and Gully Boy).

Audiences expect a certain quality when her name is associated with any project.

After co-directing the blockbuster web series Made In Heaven, Zoya delivers another winner, Dahaad.

Though she isn’t the director of this one, she is one of the creators and also has written the additional screenplay.

For those who are not aware, Dahaad is inspired by real-life serial killer Mohan Kumar, also known as Cyanide Mohan.

Synopsis

The story of Dahaad is set in a small town called Mandawa in Rajasthan.

Sonakshi Sinha plays Inspector Anjali Bhaati, an officer who belongs to a backward caste.

She gets the case of a girl who is said to have eloped with a Muslim man taking along cash, jewellery, and other things.

She initiates the investigation with her fellow officers Devilal Singh (Gulshan Devaiah) and Kailash Parghi (Sohum Shah).

During the investigation, the cops discover many similar cases of girls eloping with anonymous partners, which raises the question of whether they were all linked.

Eventually, Anjali finds that all the eloped girls died by consuming cyanide.

Anand Swarnakar (Vijay Varma) is the prime suspect. However, Anjali is not able to gather strong evidence against him.

Meanwhile, Anand plays many tricks with the police and poses as a victim who is being harassed by Anjali.

The rest of the story follows Anjali’s pursuit of the case. Where her suspicions about Anand right? If so, how does she and her team manage to arrest Anand red-handed?

Also. why is the killer attacking girls from only a particular social stratum?

The presentation

The best thing about Dahaad is how the Zoya Akhtar, Reema Kagti, and Ruchika Oberoi team uses the town of Mandawa and Rajasthan.

Both these become a character in themselves, and the social issues have been presented in a hard-hitting manner.

For example, despite being a police officer, on more than one occasion Bhaati is reminded of her lower caste.

Anjali has to fight against both sexism at the workplace along with questions about her lineage.

A scene which deserves particular mention is the one when Anjali lashes out at a wealthy man who doesn’t allow her to enter the house because of her lower caste.

There is also a subplot of how people are used as scapegoats. It is brief but Ruchika Oberoi and Reema Kagti make some important points.

Standout performances

Gulshan Devaiah’s Devilal Singh is a character that stands out the most along with Vijay Varma’s Anand Swarnakar.

We see Devilal Singh not just as a determined police officer but also as a husband and a father who is weathering a storm at home.

He has a progressive outlook on how his daughter shouldn’t confine herself to being a housewife in future. He wants her to be strong and independent.

His wife on the other hand isn’t so progressive and as a result, there are constant tussles.

Devilal Singh is so progressive that he even makes his son understand that curiosity about sex is natural at his age and that there was nothing wrong with that. However, he also tells his son to be careful.

Gulshan Devaiah steals every scene he is in with a magnetic performance.

The antagonist

Vijay Varma is a veteran at playing socially deviant characters; whether it is Pink or last year’s Darlings.

Still, the actor makes a huge impact with his character in this series. Anand is a complex character as he appears to be a do-gooder on the surface.

Apart from being an excellent Hindi professor he also runs a mobile library for the underprivileged but soon enough the viewers can understand how calculative he is.

He spends most of his time outside the home and his equation with his father is not great as there are severe daddy issues.

Vijay Varma is in fantastic form. Both as a middle-class married man struggling to make out ends meet and also as a serial killer who has unresolved issues with his father.

Striking aspect

Another striking aspect of the web series is how it doesn’t paint all men as monsters.

Certain women characters in the web show are equally regressive.

This particularly comes out in the scenes when Anjali talks to the parents of the eloped girls. All of them think that it was good that their daughters eloped instead of being a financial burden at home.

They declare that they had nothing to do with girls.

It must be mentioned that Anand only targets women from the lower strata of society and whose parents were not in a position to pay a big dowry.

He camouflages himself as a different person and seduces them by talking sweetly. Once they fall for him and agree to have sex, he thinks they are loose characters and eliminates them with cyanide.

Slightly off

One of the areas that Dahaad slightly falters is the climax.

After all the cat and mouse game the confrontation between Sonakshi and Vijay could have been more impactful.

Another issue with the web series is the casting of Sonakshi in the role of Anjali Bhaati. Sonakshi is adequately fierce in her demeanour but is rather one-dimensional in how she approaches the character.

The cinematography by Tanay Satmam is of the first order. He does a wonderful job of capturing the rusticness of the terrain. The Rajasthani dialect used is also mostly flawless.

Final verdict

Dahaad is definitely a worthy roar and a noteworthy addition to the career of Zoya Akhtar.

(Views expressed are personal)