Troll 2 may be, as the documentary about its making and aftermath contends, the Best Worst Movie, but the actual best best movie ever made is Faiza Ahmad Khan’s debut feature, Supermen of Malegaon. Actually, it’s two of the greatest films ever made. The first is Khan’s documentary, following a group of poor, movie-obsessed men in the besotted town of Malegaon, India — in the middle of nowhere and nowhere near either Hollywood or Bollywood — as they struggle to make the Malegaonian version of Superman. The second is that actual movie, a condensed version of which plays at the end.

Supermen of Malegaon proves that desire and will can overcome an amazing lack of resources and limited skill. To paraphrase the tagline of the original Superman movie: “You will believe a man can pretend to fly.” Somewhere, Christopher Reeve is smiling.

I didn’t have my pro camera with me when I sat down with director Khan in front of McGinty’s, so I grabbed my trusty Canon Powershot A590. Which fits conceptually with discussing a film all about no-tech filmmaking.

SPOILER ALERT! In my embarrassingly gushing praise of Khan’s work I reveal many aspects of the film. Even knowing them shouldn’t mar the film’s considerable charms, but be forwarned. Khan also discusses the “Slumdog problem.”

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