Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; March 19, 2018)

"Dreams do come true,” says Souvik Ganguli at the onset of our chat. The Kolkata-based security guard has reason to believe in the saying, given that he has recently made his singing debut with Zee Music.

It only took a Facebook post featuring Ganguli belting out select tracks to change his life. “I often sing Arijit Singh’s songs. A few months ago, someone recorded it and put it up on social media. An event-based company came across the video, and suggested my name to Zee. The next thing I know, I’m in Mumbai pursuing my dream of becoming a singer.”

Dhaga Dhaga, which released on the company’s YouTube channel on March 15, pairs Ganguli with singer Aakanksha Sharma. “The company is pitching the song for a film,” says Ganguli, adding that he has shot for the video in Dubai. He has also lent his vocals to two more cover versions, including Raees’s (2017) Zaalima and Rustom’s (2016) Tere Sang Yaara. What makes his achievement commendable is that Ganguli hasn’t received professional training in singing. “Now, the company has enrolled me into a training institute.”

This isn’t his first tryst with fame. In 2016, his singing skills caught the attention of social media users. Ganguli was soon giving interviews on news channels, but his career didn’t take off.