Mollywood's superstar Shaikh Shafique, who takes on the tobacco mafia in 'Malegaon Ka Superrman', is dying of throat cancer in real life
Mollywood's superstar Shaikh Shafique, who takes on the tobacco mafia in 'Malegaon Ka Superrman', is dying of throat cancer in real life
Over the years, we've seen many celluloid supermen having tragic endings in their real life. Now we hear the lead actor of Anurag Kashyap and Sunil Bohra's next Malegaon Ka Superrman Shaikh Shafique is meeting the same fate.
You can call it a cruel joke or irony, but the 28-year-old actor who fights the evils of tobacco in the film is suffering from throat cancer (as a result of his tobacco intake) and has very few days left to live.
Last stage
A source informs, "The debutant actor Shaikh Shafique, who lives in Malegaon, was very excited to play superman in the film. But his world came crashing down when he was diagnosed with throat cancer a year ago. He is in the last stage."
The source adds, "Since Shaikh is critical, Kashyap and Bohra have arranged a special screening of the film in Malegaon. They just want to keep their superman happy."
Release date
Bohra says, "I was shocked when I found out three days ago that Shiekh will not survive more than few months. I immediately released the poster and announced the release date of the film because I want him to be there when the film comes out. It is being released in November."
By the time you see this film, he may not be there. Zoya and Farhan Akhtar saw the film at a film festival and have dubbed messages for him. We are planning to get around 50 people from the industry to record messages against the perils of tobacco. Even Sheila Dixit met him after watching the film."
The film, directed by Shaikh Nasir, has done the rounds of festivals last year. It has been shot on a shoestring budget with a crew from Malegaon itself.
The magic that is Mollywood
It all started a few years ago, when the Canada Broadcasting Corporation (while researching for their project India Reborn) put the film industry in the non-descript city in the Nashik district on the global map.
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Of course, this parallel cinema was famous in India even before that.
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So what makes Mollywood different, or special? One is its cast and crew, all of whom live in Malegaon itself. Then, its super small budgets (some have been made with as less as R 50,000!).
And finally, and most importantly, the films spoofs of popular Bollywood movies. Some of its blockbusters include Malegaon Ke Sholay and Malegaon Ki Lagaan.
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