VILLUPURAM: It's a dream come true for small-town girl M Harsihini Nethra (14) as she embarks on her journey as a singer from small stages to reality shows on a popular television channel. Nethra, a Class 10 student from Pidagam village, has now been shortlisted as one of the top 20 contestants in a household singing reality show on a Tamil TV channel.
Earlier, Nethra garnered popularity on social media after a local Instagram handle shared a video of her singing a famous number from the movie Jai Bhim, attracting over 20 lakh views. “She developed an interest in singing since childhood and so we put her in a vocal training class when she was nine,” said her mother D Premalatha. Nethra received training for the last five years in professional Carnatic vocal.
“It was my dream to express my talent in a massive feat and this reality show has made it true. But before that, it was the efforts of Villupuram city social media handle which popularised my singing from book fair event held in Villupuram this year,” Nethra said.
Nethra aims at clearing UPSC exams and becoming an IAS officer when she grows up. For now, winning the contest is all she has set her eyes upon. “I come from a low-income family. But, that did not stop me from dreaming big. My parents have been a great support in taking me to different places for contests all these years and they were patient to let me try again and again,” she added. Nethra’s message to children, especially girls from rural background, is that one should never stop dreaming and keep working towards making it a reality.