From singing on a railway station to Bollywood, a viral video completely turned Ranu Mandol’s life around. Like any other day, on July 21, Mondal walked from her home to the Ranaghat Railway Station in the Indian state of West Bengal, a distance of four kilometers. Her melodious voice her tool and the local trains and railway stations her workplace, she was set to make another day’s living by singing for the travellers.
As the 59-year-old sat on a bench singing, a man named Atindra Chakraborty took out his phone, recorded her song and uploaded the video on social media.Her rendition of the Hindi song, an evergreen Lata Mangeshkar hit, ‘Ek pyaar ka nagma hai’ soon went viral and she was an overnight celebrity.
Recently, Bollywood singer-composer Himesh Reshammiya came across her video and has offered to give her a singing contract for the upcoming movie Happy Hardy and Heer. She will also make an appearance on Superstar Singer and meet the kids and the judges, including Himesh. He said: “Today, I met Ranuji and I feel that she is blessed with divinity. Her singing was mesmerizing and I could not stop myself from offering her the best I could.”
Soon, many people volunteered to fetch her food and she received numerous phone calls. She even got a makeover at a local beauty parlour, the pictures of which started flooding social media.She is now reportedly getting offers from TV talent shows around the country.
According to an article on the Indian newspaper, Times of India, Chakraborty said: “A Bengali band has called and she may be seen on stage this month. A reality show producer called too and wanted to send flight tickets. But that fell through because she doesn’t have an identity card. Several producers from Kolkata have called, asking if she is interested in playback singing.”
