‘Secret Superstar’ director, actor talk about Chinese and Indian society

MUMBAI: Indian musical drama film ‘Secret Superstar’ is being released in China this week and its director Advait Chandan and actors Zaira Wasim and Aamir Khan are expecting a warm welcome of the movie.

All set to enter Chinese waters, Chandan shares insight about the movie and its sailing in Chinese waters.

Released in 2017, ‘Secret Superstar’ is a story of a young girl hailing from a conservative family and aspiring to be a singer. The movie’s themes revolve around domestic violence and gender stereotypes that are ebbed in our societies.

Written and directed by Advait Chandan and produced by Aamir Khan and his wife Kiran Rao, the has not only received critical acclaim but has been a commercial success. It earned Zaira Wasim the National Child Award for Exceptional Achievement.

In an interview with Chinese newspaper Global Times, Chandan admitted that ‘Secret Superstar’ largely went unnoticed at first because most Indian films feature men as the main characters, while his film focused on a mother-daughter relationship.

"I am very close to my mother so I wanted to bring that emotion to the film," said the director.

Besides the unique mother-daughter perspective, what makes ‘Secret Superstar’ stand out is the way it deals with increasing social problems, and Amir Khan's character.

"Amir Khan’s character is completely opposite of who he is in real life. I thought it would be interesting to present him in a new light for his fans to get entertained."

Chandan told the Global Times that Khan enjoyed the role because he usually played serious roles but this time he "could just be like a monkey and flirt with girls."

Commenting on the theme of the movie about a cruel father, meek mother and a rebellious daughter, Chadan said, "It's really sad that people only relate with the part that some families may only want boys and not girls, which is also true. I hope that a film like this makes people reconsider their thinking."

The director continued, "It would be nice if this movie can make people feel uncomfortable, and force them to re-think their behavior especially toward women. If a woman who watches it feels more empowered, inspired or feels that she deserves the same chances, that would be a good thing too. I also feel that it's not just women, if there are boys out there who are not supported by their family in pursuing their dream, they may also feel inspired.”

Zaira Wasim, the young star cast who has been awarded the Best Child Artist Award, noted that she herself comes from a very supportive family, so although the film may show one section of the Indian society, it is "a big country and we should not generalize too much."

Amir Khan starring ‘Dangal’ and now, ‘Secret Superstar’ both reflect the prejudices that women face in a patriarchal society. Since women in China face similar prejudices it became a reason for ‘Dangal’'s success in China.

China and India launched a few co-productions including ‘Xuan Zang’, ‘Kung Fu Yoga’ and ‘Buddies’ after their Presidents visited each other in 2014 and 2015, respectively.

Though the projects have not been very popular but Chandan is excited about the potential that lies in these projects.

"I've not been able to watch ‘Kung Fu Yoga’, but I am a big fan of Jackie Chan. I think that it's a huge opportunity because I feel that China and India enjoy the same type of films. If I watch more Chinese films and you watch more Indian films we can get to know each other better and I think this coproduction is really exciting and I hope I can someday make an India-China coproduction," he said.