Secret Superstar (2017) [Movie Review]


Dir: Advait Chandan
Starring: Zaira Wasim, Meher Vij, Raj Arjun and Aamir Khan
Dur: 2 hrs 30 mins
Genre: Drama
Rating: 8/10

If you haven’t seen this film yet, you have missed out on one of the best things to have come out of Bollywood in the last year. It’s not too late however, to watch this incredible story of youth.

Youth is a time of big dreams and little means. Our heroine Insu, played brilliantly by Zaira Wasim is smitten with dreams to make it big in the world of music. Despite her small beginnings and unstable family environment, she harbours her dreams. Before I go any further allow me to let you know that the film is dedicated to ‘mothers and motherhood’ and that is bound to give you some idea about how things develop. Needless to say, Insu’s biggest support is her mother while her father is her biggest obstacle. Through some sly family dealings (reminiscent of Rebekah, Jacob and Esau of the Old Testament) Insu gets her shot at fame but her success is short-lived.

The film has a wonderful atmosphere of tension, suspense and tear-jerking moments. The script is well-written and brought to life by the dynamic acting of the lead cast. Zaira deserves the praise she has received for her acting. She has also won multiple awards for the same. Aamir, plays an interesting character though unimportant character but still manages to steal the show. The onscreen chemistry between the lead actors is a delight and contributes in no small way to the overall success of the film.

The film tugs at heartstrings. There were moments I empathized with some of the characters and that helped bring the emotional content of the scene to life. The ending is beautiful although a tad predictable, definitely another teary moment. What’s interesting is the issues the film puts its hands into. It’s not just a story of having big dreams and fulfilling them; it focuses more on the process one must go through to make one’s dreams a reality particularly in an unfavourable situation. It waxes eloquently on the importance of healthy family life and on the average Indian mindset. It has strong feminist leanings and that makes it all the more endearing. It’s not for nothing that it has become one of the highest grossing films of all time, and that with a female as the lead. It is definitely a film that we, Indians should be proud of. It challenges us very strongly to change the way we view and nurture women. It is every bit entertaining as it is inspiring. But don’t for a moment think it’s just a film about teens and for teens. It’s about teens but it’s more for those who are charged with guiding and raising them.  

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_yb8HORges

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Great Grand Masti 2 (2016) (Movie Review)

Image
Dir: Indra Kumar Starring: Vivek Oberoi, Riteish Deshmukh, Aftab Shivdasani, Urvashi Rautela Dur: 2 hrs 10 mins Genre: Comedy Rating: 1/10 Comment: The jokes, gestures and costumes are sexually suggestive. An absolute waste of time. “What an opening line”, you might think. But to say otherwise would be an absolute lie. This film is in fact, a great grand waste of time. It’s horrible whichever way you look at it. The story is weak and thrives on cheap thrills and sorry jokes. The actresses are no doubt eye-catching but the rest is all a blur. The comedy is in fact tragedy and the film attempts to play on the basest desires of man. It’s unbelievable that actors like Riteish and Vivek would do such a film. I am not a big fan of bollywood but I still feel bad when I see bollywood making films like these. All of a sudden, I see that sex is being propagated through Indian cinema. The views of sex are changing and filmmakers and actors are not hesitating to take on unconvent
Read more

The Challenge of Mercy

Image
Pope Francis has declared this as the year of mercy, and up until now plenty of reflections have been preached and published on mercy. Perhaps each of us too have made our own reflection on the theme of mercy. Since the inauguration of the year, my mind has often reverted to this theme. Every night when I make an examination of conscience, I evaluate myself: my thoughts, words and deeds vis-à-vis mercy. I realize that I am not merciful most of the time and that I resort to do what benefits me over the merciful thing. Pope Francis realized that the Church needed to revisit the theme of mercy; to reflect upon it and put it into practice. Mercy is at the heart of the Gospel. Jesus is the personified revelator of the Father’s mercy. Through his words and deeds he suffused the scent of mercy. His teachings on mercy are appreciated and continue to inspire people even today. The Church itself was founded on mercy: Christ became the expiation for our sins (1 Jn 4:10; Heb 2:17). He for
Read more

Andadhun (2018) [Movie Review]

Image
Dir: Sriram Raghavan Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Radhika Apte and Tabu Dur: 2 hrs 18 mins Genre: Black Comedy Crime Thriller Rating: 3/10 I watched this film on good recommendations. It was hailed as one of the best films of 2018. The mystery surrounding the film went well with the mystery that was actually the film itself. I learnt a hard lesson after watching this film and that is not to go by what other’s say about a film. Given Bollywood’s film making standards, I should not have been surprised. Yet, I found myself pleasantly surprised at the end product. Andadhun tells a complex tale of blindness in a world that is not blind even though it appears so. Confused? Well then, watching the film is not going to make it any better. This film is a classical example of postmodern film-making. It is replete with ample plot twists that don’t allow you to settle into its tricky narrative. Just when you think you have it all figured out, a new twist emerges and challe
Read more