Secret Superstar Review - An Outlandish Yet Heartwarming Take On Feminism

Secret Superstar is outlandish in many parts, but is indeed a fantastic film. The film, starring a fantastic duo in the form of Zaira Wasim and Meher Vij spans over 2 hours and 35 minutes. Directed by debutante Advait Chandan, this is a PG-13 version of Amole Gupte’s brand of filmmaking. It focuses on Insia, a young Muslim girl, played by Wasim who lives in a conservative household where her father beats her mother over every little thing. One time, the mother forgets to put the geyser on and he breaks her hand.

The best thing here is Meher Vij, playing Najma, Insia’s optimistic mother who doesn’t let the circumstances of her marriage and life bring her down. Najma’s disheveled look throughout the film, her puffy eyes and her tired face make the entire thing believable. I shut my eyes as Insia’s father, played by Raj Arjun, who’s in fantastic form, beat her mother because it’s so well thought out and scripted.

The little nuances make the film memorable. For instance, the brilliant juxtaposition of the burkha in the film. Many a time in mainstream Hindi cinema, we’ve seen it being something that has held the protagonist back. But here? It helps Insia achieve her dream by becoming the Secret Superstar. I smiled as I watched her achieve her dream, only because of the burkha. What doesn’t work are the conflicts. There are too many that are too easily solved. These are all mini conflicts in front of the domestic abuse that takes place in her home everyday but still, in one frame, Zaira is crying and a split second later, she’s dancing.

That is the main problem with Secret Superstar. It’s too unbelievable and cliched. There are moments of genuine pain, especially in Insia’s household, her tuition class and household but they’re fleeting. Insia has no views on her YouTube video and five minutes later, she has 11,000 views. Then Amitabh Bachchan is tweeting her and she’s getting tweets from New York. It is hard to take in but the only glue holding Secret Superstar’s bumps together is Zaira Wasim. She’s complimented by Tirth Sharma, playing Chintak, her admirer. Zaira cries, laughs, dances, sings and just stands still like her life depends on it. The standout scene in the film for me was when Insia took Shakti Kumar (played by Aamir Khan)’s crude song Sexy Baliye and turned it into Nachdi Phira.

Aamir’s character, is one of the funniest things I’ve seen this year. Aamir, takes off from Dangal and does something he did in that film too. Shakti, like Mahavir Singh Phogat is genuinely an unlikable person, yet he still imbues him with a general vulnerability and passion like he did to Phogat. Whether it was Mahavir massaging Geeta and Babita’s feet as they slept or Shakti crying when he heard Insia sing. The vulnerability of a human is what Secret Superstar is all about. Insia, Najma, and even Chintak are all vulnerable people who are trying to find their place in life.

The climax of the film is the most outlandish scene but it still filled my heart with joy, especially when Insia finally takes her burkha off. While rushed, Zaira and Aamir gloss over the bumps of the film and the climax to make an enjoyable viewing experience.

Secret Superstar is an inspiring film, that does get outlandish but it is an inspiring tale that’ll keep you hooked from the first minute to the last. An extremely strong debut by Advait Chandan, Zaira Wasim and Aamir Khan (who gets to flex his acting chops to the point where I was also laughing at how stupid Shakti is), this is a well fleshed-out script with fantastic performances consistently. The only thing stopping Secret Superstar from a 4 star rating is its outlandish scenes, but watch it as it’ll warm your heart deeply. I’m going with 3.5 stars for Secret Superstar starring Zaira Wasim and Aamir Khan.