Secret Supersta, starring Zaira Wasim and Meher Vij and Aamir Khan, is a heartbreaking and honest depiction of how a child is able to dream about things, things that are bigger than her and how she would do everything to make it happen. It speaks to the resiliency of the human spirit and the kindness of strangers, even though they might not seem like that at first glance. The story is simple, about a girl named Insiya (Zaira Wasim) who wants to become a singer and seeks an obnoxious music director, Shakti Kumar after she sees him on a music competition show.
Insiya, who is muslim, lives with her family, her kind hearted mother, Najma (Meher Vij, beautifully understated) and brutal father, who doesn’t want her to become a singer, and in a heartbreaking scene, plucks off all the strings of her guitar. The world is full of people who misunderstand her, who restrict her from being what she wants to be, but that doesn’t stop her from trying, and she does, with the help of Shakti Kumar, and starts releasing Youtube videos, while wearing a burka so nobody knows who she is, and takes the nation by storm.
The movie wouldn’t have worked in anyway if the performances weren’t so pitch perfect, and Zaira Wasim, who won a supporting National award for her work in Dangal, gives a tender, fiery performance that anchors the movie and makes us believe everything Insiya does and feels. And, as always, Aamir Khan turns in another great performance as a pompous man, who still has a kind heart. Its wonderful to see him take a supporting role and makes the movie about a little girl and her mother.
I’d really recommend watching this movie in a theater, since its one of years best.
