From singing at the streets and stations near Kolkata to recording her first song in a studio, 59-year-old Ranu Mondal is truly living her dream. Soon after a video of her singing Lata Mangeshkar’s song Ek Pyar Ka Nagma Hai at Ranaghat railway station, West Bengal, went viral, Ranu became an internet sensation. So much so that she was soon invited on a reality show that composer-singer-actor Himesh Reshammiya judges, and that’s when he offered her to sing a song, Teri Meri Kahani, in his upcoming Punjabi film, Happy Hardy and Heer.
“It has been overwhelming… I feel humbled,” says Ranu, adding that working with Himesh “has been a wonderful experience. His encouraging words brought tears to my eyes”.
Himesh has recorded another song with Ranu and shared the video on his Instagram page. “After the epic blockbuster track teri meri kahani , Recorded another track Aadat from happy hardy and heer in the divine voice of Ranu mandol , here’s the glimpse of the song , the alaap and voice over is the theme of happy hardy and heer , thanks for all your love and support,” he captioned the post.
Meanwhile, earlier this week, reports came that actor Salman Khan has gifted her a house worth Rs 55 lakh and also offered her to sing a song in Dabangg 3. However, clueless about any such thing, Ranu hands over the phone to her manager, Atindra Chakraborty — the man who recorded and shared her video on social media — and he denied these reports. “All these are fake news. I’ve been getting several calls since this rumour started doing rounds. She has no such offer. The house that is being made for her is by Ranaghat local administration. The channel who gave her the opportunity to perform live on TV along with the local administration helped her get her Aadhaar card made,” he tells us.
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, earlier this week, reports came that actor Salman Khan has gifted her a house worth Rs 55 lakh and also offered her to sing a song in Dabangg 3. However, clueless about any such thing, Ranu hands over the phone to her manager, Atindra Chakraborty — the man who recorded and shared her video on social media — and he denied these reports. “All these are fake news. I’ve been getting several calls since this rumour started doing rounds. She has no such offer. The house that is being made for her is by Ranaghat local administration. The channel who gave her the opportunity to perform live on TV along with the local administration helped her get her Aadhaar card made,” he tells us.
{{/usCountry}}However, he excitedly shares that Ranu has been showered with offers from Bollywood, Bengali and South Indian film industries. “Just a day before, we got a call from AR Rahman’s office. Sonu Nigam has also shown interest in collaborating with Ranuji. We’ve decided to concentrate on these offers right now, along with Bollywood offers,” shares Atindra, further sharing that Ranu has also received many offers to perform live.
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Amid all this, Ranu admits that she’s not being able to grasp of all that’s happening around her. “It feels great to see people showering me with so much love and looking forward to work with me… I’m letting Atindra take care of everything. At this age it’s very difficult for me to understand all these; I don’t even have a phone. So, he’s guiding me. He is like my son,” she says.
Not a trained singer, Ranu has been living at this stations for years now. Sharing how daily commuters at the station would generously offer her food and clothes, Ranu says, “Good or bad days, music keeps me going. I love singing, that’s the only thing I could do. Lataji’s songs have always inspired me. Life has been difficult till Atindra spotted me and shot the video. He’d often stop by to listen to me.”
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