At 25, Maithili Thakur has gone from singing Sohars in her father’s living room to performing on global stages — and now, stepping into the BJP’s political arena.
00:01Why is the state of more than 12 crore people getting so animated about this 25 year old making her election debut?
00:12You've seen her sitting cross-legged, harmonium by her side.
00:15Behind her, almost always sits her father Ramesh Thakur.
00:18Sometimes quiet, sometimes keeping the taal with a soft clap.
00:21It's a familiar frame, three siblings, a song from another century, Methli's voice leading, her younger brother harmonizing and the other keeping rhythm on the tabla.
00:38Methli was born in Benipatti in Bihar's Madhubani district, the birthplace of Mithila art and Methli language.
00:44Her father, a music teacher, left Bihar in 1995.
00:47It was like that.
00:49But they returned to that land via his daughter's songs.
00:52Her big break came in rising star India in 2017.
00:55She didn't win, but when she went live on Facebook after the show, people flooded the comments asking her to sing Sohar.
01:05It's a traditional folk song performed by women to celebrate the birth of a child in Bihar.
01:09That, she said, was when her father got the idea to start recording and posting these folk songs.
01:14What began as home recording soon turned into a quite cultural revival online.
01:17Today, Methli isn't just a digital phenomenon.
01:18She is performing to packed audiences across the world.
01:19In an industry like Bhojpuri cinema, where many films and songs chase mass appeal with explicit or vulgar lyrics,
01:20Methli's music feels radically different.
01:21So, when Methli announced she was joining the BJP at 25, fans didn't quite know what to make of her.
01:22What began as home recording soon turned into a quite cultural revival online.
01:26Today, Methli isn't just a digital phenomenon.
01:29She is performing to packed audiences across the world.
01:32In an industry like Bhojpuri cinema, where many films and songs chase mass appeal with explicit or vulgar lyrics,
01:42Methli's music feels radically different.
01:45So, when Methli announced she was joining the BJP at 25, fans didn't quite know what to make of it.
01:50Some congratulated her for taking her values from stage to service.
01:56Others said you should have just stuck to singing.
01:58A few even called it a Kangana run-out moment.
02:01Another artist turning saffron too soon.
02:03The shift seemed sudden, but for those who followed her closely, the signs were there.
02:13She had received the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puruskar in 2021, the Yuva Samman from Prime Minister Modi,
02:20and had even been named State Icon of Bihar by the Election Commission.
02:24Her songs often celebrate faith, culture and devotion.
02:27Themes that resonate deeply with the BJP's cultural politics.
02:30Through all of this, her father remains in the same frame, quiet, steady, protective.
02:39He once said he left Bihar because of division.
02:42Now, his daughter has stepped into a space defined by ideology.
02:46And whether she sings next or speaks next, India is listening.
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