First Things First

ADVAIT CHANDAN’S JOURNEY IS NO LESS INSPIRING THAN THAT OF HIS PROTAGONIST IN SECRET SUPERSTAR.

- Suman Sharma

Whatever Aamir Khan touches, turns into gold. Here, we mean box-office gold! Advait Chadan, debutant director of Secret Superstar, would definitely agree. A decade old journey with Aamir Khan, as a production hand and then manager, finally found fruition when the superstar agreed to co-produce and act in Advait’s film. Starring Dangal girl, Zaira Wasim, and Aamir Khan, Secret Superstar, tracks the journey of 15-year-old Insiya, whose aspirations to be a singer are thwarted by her misogynist father. Aamir plays a maverick music director, Shakti Kumar, who spots her talent, while Meher Vij plays Insiya’s resolute mother.

The spirited tale that also spoke of feminism and domestic violence crossed the 50-crore mark and buoyed the sedate movie market. What’s more it won immense praise for Advait. “It’s a dream come true. I want to repeat this dream again and again,” he says his sense of euphoria palpable. “The big deal is that people are talking about the scenes, the characters and the moments. They say the film has left them shaken and moved,” he shares.

Advait started his career as an intern with Prahlad Kakkar’s advertising house. Later, he moved towards Excel Entertainment and assisted Reema Kagti during Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd. But the bright curve in his career can be said to be his decade-old association with Aamir Khan Productions (AKP) as also his friendship with Kiran Rao. Starting off by looking over catering on the sets of Taare Zameen Par (TZP) and then being Aamir Khan’s manager for four-and-a-half years, it’s been an exhaustive process of learning. In fact, he’s done nine projects with Aamir including Satyamev Jayate, Talaash, Dhoom, PK and Delhi Belly.