New Delhi: Actor Vineet Kumar Singh says he finds many similarities between his journey and the small-town writer he plays in “Superboys of Malegaon”, their love for cinema being one.
As someone who grew up in Varanasi and was pursuing medicine, Vineet believes it was destiny that brought him to Mumbai and naivete that kept him going at a time when many of his friends decided not to stay the course.
In “Superboys of Malegaon”, the actor plays Farogh Jafri, screenwriter of wacky spoof films “Malegaon Ke Sholay” and “Malegaon Ka Superman” whose dream of crossing over to Bollywood remained unfulfilled.
Vineet, known for his work in films such as “Mukkabaaz”, “Gangs of Wasseypur”, “Ugly”, and “Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl”, said he has always believed in trusting the larger picture.
“I’m here purely because of my love for cinema. I related with my character and when that happens, it becomes easier. I was destined to come here. Where I come from there was no one who came before me in the industry. A lot of my very intelligent friends went back. Sometimes being a little less intelligent is not such a bad thing
“I faced a lot of troubles but I’m here because I had faith that I am supposed to be here. With experience, you try to gauge what the outcome is going to be and that’s where you start making mistakes,” he told Media in an interview here.
Big things weren’t done thinking about the result in the first place, he said, adding that a great result is often a byproduct of trusting the process.
“Sometimes I wonder how this happened. It could happen only because I didn’t know a lot, didn’t think a lot about the result.”
Inspired by the life of amateur filmmaker Nasir Shaikh’s life, “Superboys of Malegaon” follows the story of a group of villagers from Malegaon, Maharashtra, who dare to dream big and begin making films with limited resources.
The film, directed by Reema Kagti, had its world premiere at the 49th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) on September 13. Also starring Adarsh Gourav and Shashank Arora, it is written by Kagti and Varun Grover.
Recalling the memories of the premiere night at the 2,600-strong Roy Thomson Hall, Vineet said it was a celebration of cinema.
“Filmmakers, writers and film enthusiasts from around the world were gathered there to watch each other’s films. To have a world premiere of your film there was a dream. I still feel the energy of those standing ovations, whistles, and applause. It’s special for anyone who is related to the film. This was something that happens once in a while. People loved the film.”
The film is a reunion for the 46-year-old with Kagti with whom he first worked on the 2018 sports drama “Gold”. He was supposed to star in her Prime Video series “Dahaad” but couldn’t due to scheduling conflicts.
“Reema and I developed a tuning while working on ‘Gold’. She’s clear about what she’s going to shoot. She has a great understanding about the characters. This clarity helps both the director and actors on set. In fact, I was supposed to do ‘Dahaad’ also but there was a scheduling issue from my end. Then, we met for ‘Supermen of Malegaon’, read a scene, and that’s how it happened,” he said.
In the film, set to be released in 2025, Nasir (Gourav) sets out to remake Ramesh Sippy’s beloved 1975 film “Sholay”, borrowing gear from a wedding videographer and assembling a cast and crew of locals from Malegaon.
And the story could only come from someone who could write and that was Farogh, whom Vineet described as a transparent and vocal character.
“He will say whatever he feels. That’s why he is an interesting character in a film but in real life such people face a lot of problems. In cinema, adamant characters make for beautiful people because they create conflict. Farogh was that person. His world revolved around his friends and cinema. He was passionate about films.”
The actor said he wanted to meet the man himself before getting started on the film but Farogh died back in 2020.
“We started working on the film around the last part of 2022. Reema had told me about Farogh in detail. There is a lot of footage of Farogh online. Unfortunately, I was not able to meet Farogh in real life,” he added.
Though a Hindi documentary by Faiza Ahmad Khan called “Supermen of Malegaon” on these artists from the Maharashtra small town exists, “Superboys of Malegaon” goes deeper into the interpersonal relationship of the characters, the actor said.
“This film is about their bonding, their aspirations, problems. There are many different aspects that are very different from the documentary. Since the film is based on Nasir Shaikh’s life, you will see some similarities for sure but this is a completely new approach.”
When asked if there were any films which if re-made he would like to star in them, Vineet had an entire list.
“I would love to play both Sardar Khan and Faisal Khan if ‘Wasseypur’ is made again, even though I played Danish Khan in the films. I would play both Gabbar and Jai if ‘Sholay’ is ever remade. I also want to play Phunsuk Wangdu in a ‘3 Idiots’ remake. Whenever ‘Lage Raho Munna Bhai’ is being made again, I want to play the role of Munna Bhai,” he said with a laugh.
“These are all extraordinary films that just got made. I don’t know who could even make their remakes. Touching a beautiful film for a remake is a dangerous proposition,” he added.
Vineet will next be seen in a Prime Videos series produced by Kabir Khan, a film with Sunny Deol and backed by Mythri Movie Makers, an untitled film with frequent collaborator Kashyap, an international film production, and an anthology film.
