PRAYAGRAJ: For 16-year-old Monalisa Bhosle, it was business as usual while selling ‘rudraksha’ rosaries at Prayagraj Maha Kumbh when a content creator recorded a video and posted it on social media, making her an overnight sensation.
Also read: Maha Kumbh stories
Her unexpected popularity proved to be overwhelming for her, even prompting her departure from Maha Kumbh to her native place in Maheshwar in Khargone district of Madhya Pradesh.
However, things took a turn for the better and in less than a fortnight, her striking amber eyes and radiant smile fetched her massive social media following and contract for a film.
In a post on Jan 28, she said, “What would be a bigger achievement for an ordinary girl than the fact that people are coming to meet me even after I returned to Indore. I need all your support. We will meet again soon at Maha Kumbh.”
With 20.6K followers on X and 404K followers on Instagram, Monalisa maintains her social media presence through daily short video posts in which she shares glimpses of her village life, traditional customs, and inspirational messages. Monalisa continues her education at a local government school. The content on her social media handles includes motivational messages like ‘One should never stop dreaming because dreaming is the beginning of a new beginning’, and ‘the second name of success is hard work, have confidence in yourself’.
She also shared a video standing next to a poster of ‘Pushpa-2′ stating, ‘Aaj poster ke bahar, kal andar honge. Yahi samay ka chakra hai. Jald hi Mumbai mein milenge’.
On Instagram, she regularly shares video clips featuring songs like ‘Saagar Jaisi Aankhonwali’, the iconic track from the 1985 film ‘Sagar’ featuring Rishi Kapoor, Kamal Haasan and Dimple Kapadia.
In one of the videos, she says, “I sell ‘Rudraksha’ rosaries, and honestly, I do not sell fake items to anyone. Do you know that Panchmukhi Rudraksha has a seed inside it, this is the identity of its authenticity.”
Cashing in on her popularity, filmmaker Sanoj Mishra, who has directed ‘Ghaznavi’, ‘Srinagar’, ‘Shashank’ and ‘Diary of West Bengal’, has announced that Monalisa will feature in his next film, ‘Diary of Manipur’.
“Monalisa’s journey from selling ‘Rudraksha’ garlands to becoming a social media sensation reflects the transformative power of digital platforms in modern India,” says one of her followers.
Her father is a small-scale farmer, and her mother sells traditional handicrafts. Initially, they were concerned about their daughter’s newfound fame, however, with proper guidance from local community leaders and well-wishers, they gradually embraced the opportunities that came their way.