Unlike most other directors, whose films are all set to hit the theatres on the coming Friday, Faiza Ahmed Khan seems rather unfazed. On the contrary, she's thrilled that her hour-long project named Supermen of Malegaon will finally witness the darkness of the movie halls after a four year-long wait.
Her documentary follows the making of a shoestring budget film titled Malegaon Ka Superman. It took Faiza nearly seven months to wrap up the project that has won her several international awards too, since 2008. And to top it all, her debut directorial venture is now pitched against The Amazing Spiderman at box office. At least they are both releasing on the same day!
Faiza dismisses the exaggeration and says, "First of all, this documentary wasn't even meant for film festivals, let alone a commercial release. I got interested in this particular subject because there are people in Malegaon who produce films just for the love of cinema.
They don't even have the resources to sustain their celluloid dreams. But that doesn't stop them from trying." She further explains, "Spiderman is about Peter Parker in New York who was bitten by a radioactive spider, whereas Supermen of Malegaon is a true story of a bunch of guys from city-next-door who are bitten by the film bug. Plus, it's much funnier."
Due to a low budget, publicity was put on the back burners and the producers relied heavily on social media. The 30-year-old also adds that thanks to Internet, word of mouth has become a force to reckon with.
"There is an audience for all genres of cinema nowadays. So, I'd say it's an encouraging sign."
‘No' to Bollywood
On being asked whether she'd like to work in B-Town, Faiza made it clear that she's got her hands full with documentaries at the moment. "I don't see myself working in the Hindi film industry for a few more years, " she signs off.