Superstar is a further confirmation (after Ceasefire) that the talented Iranian female director, Tahmineh Milani, has abandoned making serious socio-political feminist films such as Two Women and Hidden Half in favour of commercial mainstream films. Superstar is far closer to the Iranian commercial films of pre-revolution Iran, such as King of Hearts (recently remade as Ice Flower) than Hidden Half or Two Women.
The Superstar of the title is a self-centered, obnoxious actor whose fame and fortune has blinded him to the needs of other people around him. He abandons his lovers after short affairs and treats everybody, including the director of his latest film (a delicious cameo by Sharifinia) with contempt. All this however changes when a teenage girl, who claims to be his daughter from an old affair, enters his life. From here on the movie follows a predictable path as the star begins to see his flaws and the girl becomes his guiding angel.
Shahab Hosseini is fine in the title role but the film is way beneath someone of Milani's caliber. However, with the enormous success of Ceasefire and now Superstar, it is very doubtful whether we will see more serious and thought provoking films from this gifted director.
