Actor Aamir Khan on Friday unveiled the trailer for Advait Chandan’s directorial debut Secret Superstar, in which he stars.
“I have an interesting character in this film and it has been written and directed by Advait. It was Advait’s idea to come up with this look and I have never done a role like this before,” Khan said in Mumbai.
“The story is about a girl, but I am a very integral part of this film. I am like the tadka [spices] in the dal,” he added.
Secret Superstar is about Insia, a 14-year-old Muslim girl from Vadodara, Gujarat, who wants to be a singer. She wears a burqa to hide her identity from her family while recording videos of her singing.
Chandan said he has learned a lot of directing from Khan.
“[Khan] is a school for me. I wanted to go to a film school, but I got rejected from FTII [Film and Television Institute of India]. Ten years ago, I got a job as an intern in Aamir’s Taare Zameen Par, so since a decade, [it’s like] I am going to a film school.
“A few people get a godfather in this industry, but he is my film school,” he added.
Chandan also clarified why Khan took on the role.
“He says yes to a film only if he likes the screenplay. The only way to convince him is to give a great narration and a great script,” Chandan said.
Khan added: “I was very convinced with the script, but whether I want to play this role or not, I wasn’t sure.”
“I wanted to produce this film. When Advait asked me to play this character, I was not sure because it was completely different from who I am. So I gave a screen test and then we felt I can do this role,” he said,
Chandan earlier served as an assistant director on films such as Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd and Dhobi Ghat, which was the directorial debut of Khan’s wife, Kiran Rao’s.
Secret Superstar will release in India on August 4, 2017.
