Bindu C Blogs Review Of Secret Superstar

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Secret Superstar, a film by Advait Chandan, is a perfect treat to movie lovers in this festive season of Diwali. Diwali is a festival of not only lighting lamps outside but it is all about how we deal with the darkness inside. This festival is also about the inner triumph and winning over one’s fears, insecurities, compulsion to succumb to situations and accepting defeat. In this film, we see a 15 year old girl who dares to fulfill her dream of becoming a singing superstar. It is about her journey to be the singing sensation through her you tube videos and finally becoming the playback singer. A very simple film but it showcases serious issues underlying in our patriarch society. The story has lot of heartwarming moments, rather some heartbreaking moments as well. Secret Superstar is about how a teenager achieves her dreams in spite of all odds. She is not ready to play victim card but she takes up the charge of the situation and chooses the best possible option. The film has some beautiful mother-daughter moments. One gets amazed at the kind of maturity a 15 year old girl has in understanding her mother’s ordeal who constantly suffers due to domestic violence. The film prompts us to question our own existence, do we die even when we are breathing and is there any life left within us when we don’t dare to dream, don’t stand up for our rights. The film does take certain cinematic liberties, certain conflicts getting resolved in not-so-realistic manner, and ofcourse making certain scenes a bit melodramatic. But, these minor flaws don’t snatch away the potential of Secret Superstar to be a superhit. Secret Superstar showcases domestic violence, female infanticide, hypocrite patriarch society, indiscrimination between a girl and a boy child, imposing marriage on teenage girls etc. On the other hand, it also projects the spirit to live life on one’s own terms and conditions, with the feeling of power of liberation from inside, set oneself free from all negativities and toxicities around and pursue passion in a focused manner etc.

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The film begins with a few students singing Antakshari in train. Insiya’s (Zaira Wasim, Dangal fame - young Geeta Phogat) entry happens with her singing a beautiful song ‘Sapna re…’. Chintan (Tirth Sharma), her classmate, seems to be smitten with her. Insiya’s mother Najma Malik (Meher Vij) waits at Vadodara railway station to receive Insiya. Insiya gets troubled to see the scar of domestic violence on Najma’s face. The initial scenes make it very clear that Insiya belongs to a conservative family. Her Father Farookh Malik (Raj Arjun) does not give a damn to his wife, humiliates her, physically abuses her for even small things. He is against Insiya playing guitar and following music. He does create hurdle for Insiya. But Najma is a big support system for Insiya. She finds out her own ways to support Insiya without Farookh’s knowledge. Still, both of them are unable to stand up in front of Farookh who just can’t tolerate Insiya’s musical interests. Insiya has her paternal grandmother Farrukh Jaffar and a younger brother Guddu (Kabir Sajjid) at home. Guddu brings his innocence to the story.

Shakti (Aamir Khan) is an arrogant Music Director who has lost his credibility. His personal as well as professional lives are under the media scrutiny. He picks up fight with other artists as well. As per one of the dialogue of the film, he creates remix of those songs which never got released.

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What paths Insiya choose to fulfill her dream? How does Shakti become instrumental in facilitating her journey and giving a boost to her dream? How does Najma support Insiya in fulfilling her dream? How does Najma manage to fight her humiliations by husband? What role Chintan play and how he manages to grow to be a good friend of Insiya? Farrukh Jaffar plays the role of paternal grandmother of Insiya. Initially her character seems to be that of a mere spectator but her one dialogue towards the end makes her presence and character clear.

I think, it is intentionally chosen to keep the characters not -so – perfect. For example, Insiya is not shown as a perfect daughter, sister or granddaughter. This makes the character look realistic.

What appeared unrealistic in the film is certain aspects viz. Insiya becoming overnight you-tube singing sensation, and how she gets the support of an otherwise arrogant and flamboyant Shakti. The plot is certainly predictable, but yes, the film does keep the audience intrigued.

Also, music could have been more soulful. Certainly some of the songs ‘Main Kaun hoon’, ‘Meri Pyari Ammi’ and ‘Nachdi Fira’ are good.

There were many moments in the film where I had to fight my tears of joy as well as gloom. Every time, Insiya took charge and moved one step ahead towards her dream, it gave me goosebumps. The warmth of mother-daughter relationship brought tears of joy in my eyes. The abusive father’s screaming did generate anger within me.

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The best performance comes from Mehar Vij as mother Najma. She is so expressive. Zaira Wasim also gives a great performance. She brings lot of maturity to the character of Insiya. Zaira is good in projecting her vulnerabilities, her excitement, irritation, impatience and passion etc. Raj Arjun is good as father, one tempts to hate him for his typical dominating behaviour. What to talk about Aamir Khan? He is one actor in our country, whose preparation and transformation for every role is absolutely incredible. In Secret Superstar also, he has very few scenes, but his presence is felt throughout the film. He has so convincingly projected the brat, arrogant, flirt, short-tempered as well as compassionate Shakti. He loves real talents. He has his grievances of not getting his due from the industry since he has not received any awards. Tirth Sharma as Chintan is also very good and noticeable as a teenage friend, admirer and supporter of Insiya.

Secret Superstar is the story of triumph over inner and outer toxicities which keep us away from following our dreams and passion and henceforth not living life at all. Secret Superstar is certainly superhit in terms of its content and superlative performances. Secret Superstar is about how a teenager achieves her dreams in spite of all odds. She is not ready to play victim card but she takes up the charge of the situation and chooses the best possible option. The film belongs to Zaira and Meher. A wonderful gift on Diwali, the festival of lights.

Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Cast and Crew Details: Source - Wikipedia Page

Cast: Zaira Wasim (Insiya Malik), Meher Vij (Najma Malik), Aamir Khan (Shakti Kumaarr), Raj Arjun (Farookh Malik), Kabir Sajid (Guddu), Tirth Sharma (Chintan Parekh), Shaan (Special Appearance), Monali Thakur (Special Appearance)

Directed by: Advait Chandan

Produced by: Aamir Khan, Kiran Rao, Akash Chawla, Sujay Kutty, B Shrinivas Rao

Written by: Advait Chandan

Music: Amit Trivedi

Cinematography: Anil Mehta

Edited by: Hemanti Sarkar

Production Company: Aamir Khan Productions

Distributed By: Zee Studios

Release Date: 19^th October, 2017

Duration: 2 hours 30 minutes

Language: Hindi

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it Is Certainly Appreciable That Indian Films Are Choosing Topics Of Social Taboo And Pad Man Is The Latest One Which Talks About Women’s Menstrual Hygiene And Their Need To Use Sanitary Pads. In Our Country, Menstruating Women Are Treated As Outcast On These Days And Barred From Entering Temples And Kitchens, It Is A Matter Of Debate, Since It Deals With Belief System Of Many. So, It Is A Welcome Change, When Efforts Are Being Made To Talk About Such Topics Of Societal Taboo And What Best Media Other Than A Film To Deal With Such Paradigm Shift Needed.

the Real Pad Man Aunachalam Muruganantham (click here To Know The Image Courtesy)

pad Man Is A Film Which Is Inspired From The Life Of arunachalam Muruganantham, A Social Entrepreneur From Coimbatore (tamil Nadu). He Is The Inventor Of Low-cost Sanitary Pad-making Machine. His Innovative Grassroot Mechanisms For Generating Awareness About Traditional Unhygienic Practices Around Menstruation Has Done Wonders For Women In Rural India. He Has Not Commercialized His Mini Machines Which Can Manufacture Sanitary Pads For Less Than A Third Of The Cost Of Commercial Pads, Rather He Has Chosen To Sell It To Self-help Groups Run By Women. As Per Wikipedia, These Mini Machines Have Been Installed In 23 Of 29 States Of India, And He Is Planning To Expand The Production Of These Machines To 106 Nations. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/arunachalam_muruganantham)

the Real Pad Man Arunachalam Muruganantham (click here To Know The Image Courtesy)

along With Many Awards Conferred On Him, He Was Included In Time Magazine’s List Of 100 Most Influential People In The World In 2014 And Also Padma Shri In 2016 By Government Of India.

one Thing Which Is To Be Noted Is That Pad Man, As It Is Claimed By The Makers, Is Not The First Film On Arunachalam. Amit Virmani Has Made A Documentary ‘menstrual Man’, Abhishek Saxena Made phullu (2017) And There Is Another Unreleased Film “i-pad” Made In 2015 By Amit Rai. Twinkle Khanna Had Come Out With ‘the Legend Of Lakshmi Prasad” - A Collection Of Four Stories In 2016, Out Of Which One Story Is “the Sanitary Man Of Sacred Land” On Which Pad Man Is Supposed To Be Based On. Of Course, More The Films On These Subjects, It Is Good So As To Create More And More Awareness Amongst People And Get Rid Of Taboo. So, Pad Man By R. Balki With Akshay Kumar And Radhika Apte In The Lead Is Successful In Creating The Right Buzz.

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r Balki Has Chosen To Give Fictional Names To His Protagonists Akshay Kumar And Radhika Apte And Also He Has Picked Up The Backdrop Of Bhopal Rather Than Coimbatore. R Balki And Swanand Kirkire As Writers Does Mention The Statistics As Well In The Film That Only 12% Of Women In India Use Sanitary Pads. They Have Kept The Tone Of The Film Very Light Without Making It Preachy. Sensibilities Of The Audience Is Taken Into Consideration. The Emotions Of The Females, The Belief System Of Considering Oneself Unsacred During Menstruating Days, Not Entering Kitchen / Temples, The Celebration (almost Like Mini-wedding) When A Girl Matures And The Confusion Of Male Fraternity Are Very Well Captured In The Screenplay. Even The Medical Shop Person Selling The Sanitary Pad As If He Is Selling Something Illegal Is Very Much Relatable. What Could Have Been Avoided In The Film Is The Love Dynamics Explored Between Sonam Kapoor And Akshay Kumar, It Appeared Very Cliché And Displaced.

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lakshmikant Chauhan (akshay) Works In A Welding Factory. His Sharp Eye For Details And Fixing Up Things Is Evident From The Very Beginning Of The Film. He Finds It Very Disturbing When He Sees His Wife Gayathri (radhika Apte) Using Dirty Clothes During Her Periods. In Spite Of Gayathri Asking Lakshmi To Stay Out Of Ladies’ Problems, He Does Try His Hand In Making Sanitary Pads. His Initial Attempts Fail Miserably. What He Finds It Even More Challenging Is To Get The Pad Tested. He Makes Desperate Attempts To Get The Client, Family, Acquaintances Etc. For His Product But In Vain. He Is Branded As Eccentric, Pervert And He Ends Up Risking Everything He Has - His Wife, Family, Home, Village, Social Status Etc. But Nothing Deters Him From Going Ahead With His Experimentation.

it Was A Loner’s Journey For Lakshmi, But His Go-getter Attitude Gives Him Slow Yet Steady Success And That Is How He Invents Low-cost Sanitary Pad-making Machine. another Major Challenge In Front Of Lakshmi Was To Get The Buy-in For The Pads From The Women And That Is When Pari (sonam Kapoor), A Young Talented Tabla Player And Mba Student, Enters The Scene. She Not Only Becomes His First Client But Later On Also Becomes Instrumental In Creating User-base And Roping In Self-help Groups Run By Women.

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the Film Has Many High Points Be It Lakshmi’s Undying Spirit To Not Accept Defeat And Continue With His Experimentation, His Genuine Concern For Wife And Female Hygiene, lakshmi And Gayathri’s Chemistry, Lakshmi’s Efforts In Managing To Get The Things One -by-one To Invent The Low-cost Sanitary Pad Manufacturing Machine, His ‘linglish Speech’ In United Nations, Amitabh Bachchan’s Cameo Etc.

the Cast Of The Film Perfectly Fit Into Their Respective Characters Very Well. Akshay Kumar Is Effortless While Playing Lakshmikant, He Downplays Himself Wherever Required. Radhika Apte Is Gorgeous As Gayathri And She Has Projected The Shame Associated With Even Discussing Menstruation Very Well. Sonam Kapoor As Pari Is Good And Gregarious. The Best Thing Is Writers R Bali And Swanand Kirkire Has Justified The Presence Of Every Character, Even If It Is A Small Role. Rakesh Chaturvedi As Professor Is One Such Character, Though Has A Small Role, He Becomes A Reason For Lakshmi’s Shift In Focus From Making Low-cost Sanitary Pads To Inventing Low-cost Sanitary Pad Making Machine.

rakesh Chaturvedi With Akshay Kumar (click here To Know The Image Courtesy)

balki’s Pad Man Inspired From Arunachalam Muruganantham’s Life Showcases Realistic Performances From Akshay And Radhika And The Film Succeeds In Dealing With A Topic Of Societal Taboo Like Menstrual Hygiene With Very Much Ease And Finesse. It Hits The Bulls Eye As Far As Enhancing Social Consciousness Is Concerned And It Is Bound To Leave The Ripples Of Cultural Transformation For A Very Long Time. Yes, We Can Announce Confidently - India Ke Paas Apna Superhero Pad Man Hai.

rating: 4/5 (very Good)

cast And Crew Details: Source - Wikipedia Page

cast: akshay Kumar (lakshmikant Chauhan), Radhika Apte (gayatri), Sonam Kapoor (pari), Rakesh Chaturvedi (professor), Amitabh Bachchan

directed By: r Balki

produced By: twinkle Khanna, Spe Films India, Kriarj Entertainment, Cape Of Good Films, Hope Productions

written By: R Balki

based On: The Legend Of Lakshmi Prasad By Twinkle Khanna

narrated By: Amitabh Bachchan

music: amit Trivedi

cinematography: pc Sreeram

edited By: chandan Arora

production Company: Columbia Pictures, Hope Productions, Kriarj Entertainment, Mrs. Funnybones Movies