Making of Secret Superstar song reveals Aamir Khan's hands-on producing

Aamir Khan's quest for perfection is no news to anyone. Yet, it is often held against him as a fault. The latest making video of Secret Superstar's 'Main Kaun Hoon' song reveals the extent to which the actor-producer is involved in the production process.

As lyricist Kausar Munir reveals in the video, the song was created at Khan's Panchgani get-away bungalow. The team of writer-director Advait Chandan, Kausar Munir, Aamir Khan, Kiran Rao and composer Amit Trivedi sat down for the initial sessions to come up with a tune. As Khan emphasizes in the video "When the singer sings it, you should feel 'Wow, what a song!' It should be a tough song to sing."

It is Trivedi who comes up with the rough cut of the song, before Munir adds the lyrics to it. However, the magic touch is the voice of Meghna Mishra, Amit Trivedi's new discovery. As producer Kiran Rao says, "Amit found this young girl through the internet." The composer tested 28 voices, and picked Mishra from them.

But the secret to Secret Superstar's first track is the constant presence of Khan. Even when Trivedi is composing the final track, and getting Mishra to sing it, Khan offers tips. At one point, Khan suggests that Mishra should start at a low pitch, before increasing the tempo, so as to avoid a falsetto voice. "Some important lines are overshadowed by the falsetto," Khan points out.

Mishra too had her fears while recording the song. As she reveals, "Amitji (Trivedi) encouraged me a lot, and then in the studio, he turned off the lights when I sang, because I was getting conscious of all the people around me." That certainly did the trick, and the song has proved to be quite the popular one. As Rao says, "She has turned out to be a phenomenal voice for Zaira."

Secret Superstar is directed by Advait Chandan, and stars Zaira Wasim and Aamir Khan, among others. The film is set to be released during the Diwali weekend in 2017.