Super dreams
ANUJ KUMAR
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Director Faiza Khan on "Supermen of Malegaon".
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Documenting Dreams Filmmaker Faiza Khan.
“S upermen of Malegaon” justifies the age-old idiom – where there's a will there's a way. The documentary made by debutante Faiza Khan talks of an ingenious film industry operating in this small town in Nasik district. The documentary is making waves in film festivals. The latest is the Osian film festival, and next in line is IFFI. “Malegaon made news because of the bomb blasts and communal violence. Then I read about people making spoofs of Bollywood hits there. So I decided to visit the town. And when I reached there I saw a film called ‘Malegaon ka Superman' being made there. After Bollywood, it's time for the cinema crazy people of the town to take on Hollywood. I decided to capture their efforts in a documentary,” says Faiza, who assisted Manish Jha in “Anwar”. It all started after a video parlour owner Nasser decided to give vent to his passion for cinema. “Today there are around eight to ten producers who make hour-long films.”
Faiza has tried to go beyond the glamour and humour to indicate the real problems of these people without getting didactic. “Most of the people involved in films work on power looms. Most of them are uneducated but their love for cinema is unparalleled.”
Faiza says the town was known for its power looms before the blasts and films overshadowed them. “The workers suffer from respiratory problems. They hardly make Rs.400 a week. But their problems are seldom highlighted.”
She says in a way the abnormally thin guy who plays Superman represents the plight of the town. “At the core the documentary suggests if you have the will, nothing is beyond you. Their special effects may be tacky but they achieve the intent behind the script. The superman is made to fly through some very basic chroma technique.” Faiza says Nasser was inspired by Jackie Chan movies where during the end credits they show the making of some of the action scenes. As for the cost, Faiza says, “You can never figure out the actual cost of a film because a number of payments are made in kind.” For example, she says, an actor might demand a generator!
Faiza says they use handycams to shoot and pirated editing software for post production— “the one used to edit marriage videos.”
Do the films make money? “They recover their cost but things are improving as the rights of ‘Malegaon Ka Superman' have already been sold for three lakhs and the film has not released yet.” However, the self-made glamour world hasn't contributed towards a decline in the conservative attitude of the society. “Local girls are not allowed to work in films. If the script demands female characters, actors are hired from nearby towns or Mumbai,” says Faiza.
The town is divided by a river. One side is Hindu-dominated and the other one is a Muslim locality. “It is sad that these films have not been able to bring the two communities together. In fact if you ask the Hindus, most of them are not even aware that such an industry exists in their town. It is only the Muslims who are excited about having their own films here.”
Perhaps, as Faiza suggests, the divide is more economic than religious, for most of the loom owners are Hindus.
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