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Secret Superstar

Hamnah Asif
Oct 28, 2017
2 min read

Rating: 7/10

Directed by Advait Chandan

Starring

Zaira Waseem as Insia

Meher Vij as Najma

Raj Arjun as Farookh Malik

Amir Khan as Shakti Kumar

Released on October 19th, Secret Superstar has all the delights of a simple story with expressive narration, making it a connecting and genuine watch till the first half.

In the build-up, there is an absence of contrivances and redirections. Post-interval, it plunges, and the outcome is a film which eventually becomes superlative.

The film starts and stays with fifteen-year-old Vadodara-based Insiya, who dreams of being a popular singer. A controlling, remorseless father, a docile yet encouraging mother, an elderly relative, a younger sibling, a simpatico school companion, and her beloved guitar: these make up Insiya's sphere. Each of these components is so deftly presented and built up that we are completely invested, particularly with this young girl whom we want to know more about. The film hits the correct notes with regards to its emotional pitch, feel and quality. You see the film putting the story first, and the star second, similar to Chandan’s directed Taare Zameen Par, yet the result is nowhere near as effective.

The certainty that the story appears to start with begins to falter as it incorporates plot and unsurprising bends in the second half. We are digging for Insiya all the way, and when she is made to get through to a melodic top with such ease, her triumph does not appear to be sufficiently earned; a plot which feels so genuine all of a sudden requests a ceaseless suspension of doubt.

There are times when Secret Superstar feels like a crude production and there are sequences that definitely appear to be too long.

The greatest quality of Secret Superstar is the magnificent Wasim. It is such an enjoyment to see a 15-year-old embody your everyday teenager; managing so disarmingly, strumming a guitar. Both Vij as the mother who aid and Arjun as the father who hinders are stupendous, particularly the former, which is the genuine pulsating heart of Secret Superstar.

Aamir Khan appears as the off-flavor musician Shakti Kumarr, with all tight printed tees and pants; you wish he had more to do. After a point though, everything begins feeling excessively extended. What's more, the balance between the possibility of a young person thinking beyond practical boundaries and the energy of their moms as heroes - the moms who are first battered spouses - turn a little uneven.

This film may have Amir Khan but it’s not an Amir Khan film in the sense you might think. Yet it has most of the heart and some of the skill mentally elicited by the thought of one.

If you liked Secret Superstar, watch 2010’s Udaan, an excellent coming-of-age film about a boy who must cope with his abusive father and victimized brother after expulsion from his boarding school.