At 16, Zaira Wasim has achieved what others only dream of. She is an actress, a National film award recipient and the leading lady of this week’s biggest release, Secret Superstar. However, Zaira says she destiny played a large part because she never thought she would get a chance to act. “I have grown up with a lot of social anxiety,” shares Zaira as she sits down for an interaction with News18.com. “I was never interested in acting. I would never think of putting a deliberate effort to go for auditions. I was also not a big movie buff.”
An introvert, Zaira became confident about her acting skills when she took part in her school play, which she calls her first and the last play to date. “That’s when I realized that I could survive in front of a crowd and I won’t die,” the actress quips, adding her school and family have been her greatest support system throughout this voyage of self-discovery. But that anxiety has still not gone completely, adds Zaira, who thinks it’s a life long struggle. However, she says it’s a little better now and she has finally reached to a point where she can at least talk in front of a few people. “I feel like now I can pull off a conversation. I don’t get sleepless nights.”
Secret Superstar, which releases today, marks Zaira’s second collaboration with Aamir Khan after Dangal. Directed by first-time director Advait Chandan, the film follows the story of Insia (Zaira), a young Muslim girl from a conservative family, who aspires to become a professional singer. She is dedicated to music to such an extent that at one point she even stops caring about her studies. And that’s when things turn ugly for her. Even though her father (played by Raj Arjun) slams her dream of becoming a singer, Insia never gives up.
“This part came to me up as a challenge because I could not really connect to the character and her surroundings. I would say the character, Insia is a girl who is very dreamy and passionate about her one dream. She loves singing. She wants the world to know that she is the best singer. It all comes down to the fact that she has a dream. I don't really have dreams. I hope I can find one someday but I don't really have passion. And the second would be her surroundings. The environment she is growing up in is very hostile. She has to struggle a lot to pursue her dreams which is why this role is very different from what I am in my personal life,” notes Zaira
It has only been a year since she has stepped into showbiz, but the actress has already become quite popular among the audience. When asked about how she deals with this whole process of fame, Zaira says, “I think it’s all the love that I’m getting. Acting has a very special place in my heart so I’m not connecting it with vanity. Because I have to be very sure to not let this get to my head.”
But what happens when you go to school? “In my earlier school friends are like that only they don’t really give a damn who you are. You’re the same and you’ll be the same for the rest of your life and their life as well. Since I’m going to a new school, people are a little reluctant to talk to me. I don’t really go that often because I have been in Mumbai for my film. But I would love to be friends with them. They don’t really talk to me and I don’t know why.”
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