The last time Aamir Khan held a secret, he revealed his new project, Secret Superstar with Dangal (2016) girl Zaira Wasim in the lead.
Today, the actor-producer spoke of the secret behind Secret Superstar — singer Meghna Mishra, the 15-year-old who has become the voice of Wasim in the film. The music of Secret Superstar was launched today (21 August), with the first song 'Main Kaun Hoon' released. The song is penned by Kausar Munir and composed by Amit Trivedi.
Wasim plays a Youtube user, Insiya, who hails from a conservative family that does not approve of her singing ambitions. The young singer dons a burkha, uploads singing videos on Youtube and becomes a sensation. After finding Insiya, the filmmakers had a tougher task of finding her voice. Finally, Mishra was discovered.
“We told Amit (Trivedi) about the story, our brief was simple — to find a 14-15-year-old who had a fresh voice. Our whole story is about a singer, composer. So, the primary thing that we were looking for is voice,” said Khan, as he spoke about discovering Mishra.
Adding to Khan's story, composer Trivedi said, “Once I got the narration from Aamir Sir and Advait, I had assigned my production assistant Ashish to begin the hunt. It took us a while and then we got to about 7-8 voices. There was something very pure about her (Meghna's) voice. It was just free flowing. I shared my thoughts with Aamir sir and Advait and then it was accordingly decided to go with her.”
Khan added that had they not found the right voice, the film would never have got made.
“We wanted someone with a fresh voice, one in the age group of 14-15. I was wondering whether we will be able to find such a voice. Had we not found Meghna, then we perhaps would have had to delay the film. It’s like Dangal (2016) wouldn’t have been made without Zaira. Similarly, you can’t imagine a Taare Zameen Par without Darsheel Safary,” said Khan.
Apparently, Khan was taken by surprise to learn that Meghna had once been rejected for a reality show.
“Meghna’s parents come from a musical background. Her father is a singer, and her mother plays the tabla. So, I’m trying to learn singing from the father, while table from her mother. I will do it one day. I was stunned to know how a talent like her had been rejected for a reality show years ago. It happens in life.”
It was an emotional moment for Meghna’s parents. Her mother Aarti made a candid disclosure.
“I got married when I was 21. My husband and I were not planning to have a child for 4-5 years. Meghna was born when I was 26. Had we had a child shortly after our marriage, then she would have been around 18-19 now and wouldn’t have able to bag this opportunity,” said Aarti Mishra.
Secret Superstar is set to be released on 19 October.