India’s Homemade Superhero Star Rises to Bollywood Fame

Half a day’s drive from India’s entertainment hub Mumbai, the textile city of Malegaon offers a respite from its relentless weaving looms through its fascination with Bollywood stars. One such enthusiast is Shaikh Nasir, an amateur filmmaker who has turned his dream into reality. After years of dedication to homemade cinema, Nasir is celebrating his own story making it to the international big screen.

“The cinema is, and always has been, our escape from everyday lives and our daily struggles,” says the 50-year-old Nasir.

Video parlours remain popular in Malegaon. Factory workers and daily wage earners frequent these small, dark rooms to watch Bollywood classics on large TV screens at prices much cheaper than traditional cinemas. For them, Nasir is already a star.

Back in the mid-2000s, the then young and struggling wedding videographer was an “unemployed cinema buff” who decided to make a movie. Utilizing cheap rented cameras, innovative production hacks, and a crew of equally enthusiastic film fanatics, Nasir brought his vision to life.

He funded his Bollywood and Hollywood spoofs by pouring in his savings and raising money from friends. The most famous of these was “Malegaon Ka Superman” or “Malegaon’s Superman,” where a superhero fights cancer-causing tobacco.

To create the illusion of flight, Nasir employed inventive special effects like dragging the actor on roller skates or tethering him to a plank attached to a handcart. In one ambitious scene, hidden friends carried the actor on their heads under a dyed sheet, serving as a makeshift green screen. Bicycles substituted for tracking shots, while cattle carts became improvised cranes.

The film, produced in both Hindi and local dialects, made Nasir a local celebrity. The success of “Malegaon Ka Superman” led to a series of low-budget films in the city, earning it the nickname “Mollywood” in some Indian media circles.

“The response to our work was unbelievable,” Nasir said. In 2008, the award-winning documentary “Supermen of Malegaon” brought this uplifting story to a global audience. Now, Nasir and his original team are gearing up for a big-budget Bollywood film inspired by his perseverance. Titled “Superboys of Malegaon,” the film will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival next month.

Though Nasir collaborated closely with the production team, his character is played by actor Adarsh Gourav, known for his role in the Oscar-nominated film “The White Tiger.”

However, the journey wasn’t always easy. Around 2014, video piracy severely impacted profits. Nasir had to make ends meet by running a local hotel. The rise of mobile internet and changing viewing habits reinvigorated production efforts. Today, some of Nasir’s old crew now turn a profit by producing online comedy shows.

Mukeem Arshad, 42, runs two YouTube comedy channels, which provide him with a steady income. Approximately a dozen crews of amateur writers, directors, and actors now produce multiple features every month for online followers. One of the city’s most successful YouTube channels has nearly 34 million followers.

The advent of the internet has also contributed to changing social attitudes. Women are now getting more opportunities in filmmaking. Roma Momin, an actress who has participated in hundreds of productions, notes that the internet has eased the process for women to showcase their talent.

“Things have become much easier, especially for women who didn’t have the avenues to express or showcase their talent because of the internet,” said Momin. “But I still dream of graduating to the bigger stage, hopefully Bollywood.”

Aleem Tahir, 52, an actor in one of Nasir’s earlier films, is among the rare few from Malegaon to break into Bollywood as a writing assistant. “This is passion, this is love,” he said during a break in shooting a local production. “And this is just the start for us.”

Source: AFP