Shilpa Rao performs with Shankar Mahadevan in Jamshedpur. File picture

Jamshedpur, May 22: After the success of Woh Ajnabee from The Train and Saiyan Re from Salaam-e-Ishq, there is no looking back for singer Shilpa Rao.

Making her debut with Bollywood blockbuster Salaam-e-Ishq, she is hypnotising audiences and mesmerising crowd with her voice.

Hailing originally from Jamshedpur, she has made the steel city proud by being recognised as the heartthrob of music lovers across the country.

Sitting on the living room sofa of her home throughout her growing up years, “with head thrown back and foot tapping to some music”, she never thought that she would sing in front of hundreds, Shilpa told The Telegraph from Mumbai.

“I am a simple girl,” she said, almost in wonder.

Having completed her schooling from Little Flower and Loyola School, Shilpa is now an icon for school students here.

But for her parents, Shilpa is still a child.

Her mother, R. Shya- mala, an employee of Jharkhand State Electricity Board, said: “Although she has turned 23, Shilpa is still a child for me. I enjoy listening to her songs but I don’t know even the basics of music.”

Shilpa said her inspiration is her father.

“My father S. Venket Rao has a master’s degree in music and presently is an AGM at Tata Motors. It is because of him that I’ve achieved my dreams,” she added.

Shilpa’s younger brother Anurag is also a music lover and plays the piano quite well.

Though she has no plans to come back to the steel city at present, Shilpa said she strives to soar but her soul lies in the steel city.

“This city is my soul mate, it has given me my first ever joyous experience of life. No matter how many achie- vements come my way, I will always cherish the memo- ries of the days spent in Jamshedpur,” she said.

“It always feels great to be at home. I’m always on the look out to get a break from my work so that I can be back home,” said Shilpa, who completed her educa- tion from Mumbai.

Within no time, this small-town girl has made her mark in the Bollywood music industry.

Having worked with the top music directors of Bollywood, including Shankar, Ehsaan, Loy, she now has exciting offers in her kitty. First to be released would be Aamir — a UTV produc-tion starring Rajeev Khandelwal of Kahin To Hoga fame.

The film hits silver screens on June 6.

The music was released on Sunday and is available in stores now.

Besides Nana Patekar’s Horn Ok Please and Anurag Kashyap’s Dev. D, Shilpa will also lend her voice to Siddharth Anand’s Bachna ae Hasino — a Yash Raj production — and UTV’s Bombay Fast.

“I expect my song to be as popular as my numbers released last year,” said an exuberant Shilpa.

“It feels great to be recognised by so many people. It’s a dream come true for me,”she signed off, humbly.