In the small industrial town of Malegaon, India, a vibrant independent film scene known as “Mollywood” is emerging, far from the glitz and glamour of Bollywood.
Nestled about 180 km north of Mumbai, India’s entertainment capital, lies the unassuming town of Malegaon. While it may not have the glitz and glamour of Bollywood, this industrial hub is home to a thriving independent film scene that has been dubbed “Mollywood” by the Indian media.
At the forefront of this movement is Shaikh Nasir, a 50-year-old self-taught filmmaker who has become a local celebrity. Born and raised in Malegaon, Nasir’s journey into the world of cinema began with a passion for storytelling and a desire to escape the daily grind of factory life.
“Cinema has always been our escape from the struggles of everyday life,” Nasir explains. His breakthrough came in 2008 with the release of Malegaon Ka Superman (Malegaon’s Superman), a low-budget parody that tells the story of a superhero fighting against tobacco addiction.
To bring his vision to life, Nasir had to get creative. With no access to fancy equipment or big budgets, he used bicycles as makeshift dollies and carts to hold the cameras. The film, shot in Hindi and other regional languages, was an instant hit among the factory workers and daily wage laborers of Malegaon, who flocked to makeshift theaters where Bollywood classics were screened on television sets for a fraction of the price of a conventional cinema ticket.
Nasir’s success paved the way for a new generation of filmmakers in Malegaon, who began creating their own parodies of Hollywood and Bollywood hits on shoestring budgets. These films, with their relatable stories and local flavor, struck a chord with audiences and put Mollywood on the map.
Now, sixteen years after the release of Malegaon Ka Superman, Nasir is gearing up to present his latest feature film, Superboys of Maelgaon, at the Toronto International Film Festival. Produced in Hindi with a budget that rivals those of Bollywood films, the movie tells the story of how Nasir and his team “transformed their hometown into an unlikely dream factory.”
Adarsh Gourav, the breakout star of the Oscar-nominated film The White Tiger (2021), is set to portray Nasir in the film, which promises to bring Mollywood to a global audience.
While the rise of video piracy in the 2010s took a toll on the profits from Nasir’s early successes, forcing him to temporarily change careers to make ends meet, the advent of the internet has opened up new opportunities for Malegaon’s aspiring filmmakers.
Mukeen Arshad, a 42-year-old former collaborator of Nasir, has launched two YouTube channels where he shares humorous content with his growing fan base. The digital age has also made it easier for women, who were once largely excluded from the male-dominated world of filmmaking, to express themselves and showcase their talents.
“Things have become much easier, especially for women who didn’t have the means to express or show their talent,” says actress Roma Momin, who still dreams of making it big in Bollywood someday.
Aleem Tahir, a 52-year-old actor who appeared in one of Nasir’s early films, is one of the few Malegaon artists who successfully crossed over into the mainstream Hindi film industry. But he believes that this is just the beginning for Mollywood.
As Shaikh Nasir and his team prepare to take their hometown’s story to the world stage, there is a sense of pride and optimism in Malegaon. This small industrial town, with its unlikely dream factory, is proof that passion, creativity and determination can triumph over adversity and limited resources. Mollywood may have started as a local phenomenon, but its impact is now being felt far beyond the borders of Malegaon.
With AFP
