Red Sea Film Festival 2024: Reema Kagti Talks All Things 'Superboys Of Malegaon’

In an interview with Sneha Menon Desai, Deputy Editor of The Hollywood Reporter India, at the Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the cast and crew of Superboys of Malegaon’ Cast and Crew on Their “Feel-Good Film” About Bollywood Dreams, DIY Spirit and Friendship shared their two cents on what it’s like to take a film to the festival circuit.

The film premiered at Toronto in September, after which it was screened at the London Film Festival before reaching Jeddah. Director, co-writer and producer Reema Kagti spoke about how screenings across different locations — whether at TIFF, London, or even, focused screenings in Mumbai — can create an almost universal experience. “It doesn’t matter where you are geographically,” she said. “People laugh and cry at the same points. It’s a very varied audience, but the reactions tend to be quite similar.”

Desai recalls a scene in the film wherein an actress puts forth her demands for orange juice and a make-up van even before she’s landed the role; who plays a bad cop at Excel Entertainment when such moments crop up in real life?

Kagti pointed at producer Ritesh Sidhwani, who laughed as he noted that it keeps switching between them all. “There's a little jugaad (hack) that you do while making movies,” he said with a smile.

Moving onto the casting process, Kagti explained how they cast Gourav, their first choice for the lead role. “He was everybody’s first option and then he said yes,” she started. She mentioned that they knew he was talented, but since they had previously also worked on Kho Gaye Hum Kahan (2023), they felt “doubly assured”. The film’s casting directors, Karan Malley and Nandini Shrikent, played a crucial role in pulling together the ensemble cast around him.

Despite the competitive nature of film festivals, Reema humbly reflects, “Even if we don't win, [director] Spike Lee saw our movie. That’s a reward in itself!” she said, signing off.