# Superboys of Malegaon

Superboys of Malegaon is a 2024 Indian Hindi-language coming-of-age film directed by Reema Kagti and written by Varun Grover. Inspired by the 2008 documentary Supermen of Malegaon, it is based on the life of Nasir Shaikh and other amateur filmmakers in the small town of Malegaon. The film stars Adarsh Gourav, Vineet Kumar Singh, Shashank Arora, and Anuj Singh Duhan.
The film premiered at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival on 13 September 2024. It was theatrically released on 28 February 2025, and received positive reviews from critics.

## Cast

* Adarsh Gourav as Nasir
* Vineet Kumar Singh as Farogh
* Shashank Arora as Shafique
* Anuj Singh Duhan as Akram
* Riddhi Kumar as Mallika
* Saqib Ayub as Irfan
* Gyanendra Tripathi as Nihal
* Muskkaan Jaferi as Shabeena
* Anmol Kajani as Nadeem
* Manjiri Pupala as Trupti
* Pallav Singh as Aleem
* Abhinav Grover as Raju

## Release

Superboys of Malegaon debuted on 13 September in the World Premieres section of the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival Gala program. The film was released in cinemas on 28 February 2025. It will be available to stream on Amazon Prime Video after its theatrical run.

## Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 87% of 46 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.4/10. The website's consensus reads: "A tribute to classic films while being a very good one in itself, Superboys of Malegaon is a charming dramedy that will resonate with anyone who's ever been inspired to pick up a camera." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 75 out of 100, based on 6 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.
Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave 4 stars out of 5 and said that it is “Fuelled by measured performances that blend energy with restraint, the characters and the film are in reach for the sky, while staying firmly rooted to the ground". Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express rated it 2.5/5 stars and commented that "The film brings Muslim characters back on our radar, breaking away from the tropes of evil terrorists and subservient sidekicks, and giving us those who own the story and drive the narrative." Matt Zoller Seitz of Roger Ebert.com gave 3.5 stars out of 4 and observed that "It is One of the most accessible and entertaining movies about the creative urge that you’ll see." Deepa Gahlot of Rediff.com gave 4 stars out of 5 and wrote in her review that "Superboys of Malegaon is a delight to watch".
Rahul Desai of The Hollywood Reporter India wrote, "I’m happy — and relieved — to note that Superboys of Malegaon not only retains the essence of the story, it also expands the subtext of its telling. It’s the right kind of adaptation: a crowd-pleaser with a heart, a head and a rare cognizance of the world it arrives in. The cast is solid; the script is layered; the pitch is high but not deafening; the visual tone is neat without being (too) sanitize; the soundtrack is perceptive and diverse; the gaze rarely punches down; even its flaws are logical." Rishabh Suri of Hindustan Times gave 4 stars out of 5 and said that "Reema Kagti's film is an ode to cinema peppered with nuanced performances and brilliant technical work." Nandini Ramnath of Scroll.in observed that "Superboys of Malegaon is a perfectly sweet tribute to the power of cinema to inspire other kinds of cinema. While the movie does not go anywhere near Malegaon’s communally-riven history, every major character just happens to be Muslim – a staggering achievement by contemporary standards."
Renuka Vyavahare of The Times of India gave 4.5 stars and said that "Superboys of Malegaon pays a resounding tribute to the oddballs who dream. You may call these people delusional, ambitious or foolhardy. They are all Avengers in their own way, wielding the superpower of resilience, and ability to smile through their pain." Anuj Kumar off The Hindu wrote that "A strong ensemble, led by Adarsh Gourav, combined with writer Varun Grover’s earnest delineation of small-town cinematic ambitions, make Reema Kagti’s ‘Superboys of Malegaon’ an engaging character study of desi dream merchants"