Thiruvananthapuram: A Kerala woman from an impoverished background armed with just a passion for singing, has leapfrogged from being a casual singer to a celebrity in a matter of days.
The dramatic change in fortunes came after a YouTube video of her singing a Malayalam song, while carrying her young son in her arms, went viral with more than 400,000 views, fetching her an invite to sing in a commercial Malayalam movie.
The rise of P Chandralekha (33) has enthused the people of her native village Parakkode near Adoor in Pathanamthitta district and the family is inundated with visitors from far and near.
Students at the two schools where Chandralekha studied also joined in to congratulate her as she made her way to the limelight by singing her first song for a full-fledged Malayalam movie, travelling all the way to a recording studio in Ernakulam.
Movie director Sibi Malayil and music director Milan Jaleel unanimously concluded that Chandralekha had a bright music career ahead of her after listening to her sing her debut song for a movie on Thursday.
The song is for the movie, Love Story. Chandralekha displayed little tension that a debut singer with no formal musical background would normally show, said those who guided her through her takes at the recording studio in Ernakulam.
The star turn for Chandralekha came through a short video of her singing, shot by her relative Darshan, which was posted on YouTube. The song she rendered in the video, Rajahamsame, was sung by popular Malayalam playback singer Chitra, but it now promises to take Chandralekha herself on a successful singing career.
The tale of Chandralekha is also awe inspiring due to the fact that she has had no formal training in singing, and only her family members knew how well she could sing. She now wants to get some formal training even as she mulls a successful career in playback singing. Chandralekha joins another Keralite, Santosh Pandit, in turning out to be an overnight celebrity in the entertainment sector by riding the strengths of new media.
