My favorite dialogue of the movie was at the end of his funny, hilarious, atrocious song, “ Sexy Baliye… Teri boli bolungi, teri baani gaungi…” By the time this song was mid-way, everyone but me had left the movie theatre.
Let me explain – just like the Marvel series movies, there are scenes that emerge as the credits roll. The best part of the movie, for me, was the very end where Aamir pulls a Marvel on us. In fact, it cloaks the serious issues very cleverly in light humor. And yet, most parents are quite the opposite.īut the movie is not all about suffering and sadness. So in their formative years, they should be exposed to positive role models who are proactive, have a high emotional quotient, and are great at solving problems. Kids learn very subtly, by observing their role models in action. But the fact is that an adult who brings unnecessary unprovoked aggression into the family should not be around children. Because the message conveyed here is similar to that of many other movies – that the abuser has to be an absolute hideous monster to justify the family wanting to separate from him. I do wish, though, that the father had been shown to be less of a monster.
Mona Ambegaonkar is seen on screen after a long time, as the fiery lawyer. Chintan (played by Tirth Sharma), as the kid who has a crush on Insu, reminds you of a more innocent time in your own life. Raj Arjun plays the tyrannical dad to perfection. The children’s suffering as expressed by Insu and her brother Guddu (played by the super cute Kabir Sajid) is all one needs to see to realize the intense trauma that children face in a dysfunctional family. And this premise is the basis of the story. Unfortunately though, just like in real-life children are never untouched by the violence that takes place inside a house.
She subtly conveys the all-too-familiar emotions of a woman who won’t let her husband’s unpredictable behavior interfere with the way she cares for her children. Meher Vij is convincing as the long-suffering wife Najma, who incorporates the indignities and insults into her day-to-day life. In this movie, he also conveys his belief that being a polyamorist has nothing to do with one’s morality and character. While he states that he was inspired by Jeetuji and Anil Kapoor, he seemed to have a little bit of several Bollywood music personalities in his character. Aamir delights with his portrayal of Shakti Kumar especially with his adorable flirting that has us in splits. Not to be nasty, but the badly-set hair was the one thing that detracted from the brilliance of the movie – sort of like Anushka Sharma’s bad wig in PK.Īamir’s hair, on the other hand, was brilliant! The highlighted, gelled hair, along with the rest of his ensemble wordlessly conveyed his character as a has-been musician who has an almost vulgar personality. Now if only one could say the same for the wig. Not only does she not disappoint, as the musically gifted Insiya or Insu she embodies the character beautifully. And more is what we got, with Secret Superstar. Zaira Wasim had already won hearts with her portrayal of Geeta Phogat (junior version) in Dangal, and we were left asking for more. So, whist the story is, purportedly, about how social media can transform regular individuals into social-media stars it is actually about overcoming circumstances with grit, determination, and sheer will. For instance the abuser, in the same breath, shows concern for his children by protecting them from witnessing the violence, whilst preparing to assault the woman who is smaller and less muscular than him (not to forget, also financially dependent on him). The sequence of events leading to the eventual physical assault is alarmingly accurate, with even the words being almost identical to real life domestic abuse scenarios. While exploring the grim and dark recesses of life in a repressive patriarchal household, the movie depicts a stunningly real portrayal of aggressor-victim dynamics. Right away, I knew that the movie was not a ‘fluff’ story. I missed the start of the movie (oops… my fault!), and walked into the theatre to the disturbing image of an obviously abused wife, sporting a black eye going about her daily business of tending to her children like it was all in a day’s work. Stuck in a typical aggressive-domineering-dad household, the female child is expected to maintain a low-profile and work hard. The movie revolves around the life of a small-town teen with larger-than-life dreams. Trust Aamir Khan, the not-at-all-secret-superstar, to come up with a social media-themed movie. Starring: Aamir Khan, Zaira Wasim, Meher Vij, Raj Arjun, Tirth Sharma