The Discrete Charm of Local Practices: Malegaon and the Politics of Locality

Abstract

Filmmaking in the industrial township of Malegaon, affectionately referred to by the locals as Maliwood, is known for its spoofs of popular Hindi and Hollywood films. “Maliwood” has become an almost parallel film industry based on local creativity and minimal infrastructure deriving from informal and nonlegal media economies involving video cassette theaters and stores, and the circulation of video compact discs (VCDs) and digital videodiscs (DVDs). In this article, I track the formation of the Malegaon Film Industry as a localized filmmaking practice by charting the relay between the local industry, Hindi cinema, the various documentaries made on Malegaon, and the current TV series Malegaon Ka Chintu (2010–present) shot by people from Malegaon and produced by Sab TV in Bombay. Through the case study of Malegaon, the article attempts to track the journey of the town from an informal local industry to something that is being drawn into more formal industrialized patterns of production and distribution.

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