Calcutta, Aug. 22 :
'You are my sister. I was horrified reading about your plight. I want to help you get out of this traumatic life.'' This was what filmstar Mithun Chakraborty told 18-year-old Nayana Sen (not her real name) when the two met on Tuesday afternoon.
As reported in Metro on Monday, Nayana was driven to prostitution after her parents' death.
She now lives in Sonagachhi, studying in a junior college by day and entertaining customers at night in order to pay her tuition fees and save money to escape from the 'hell-hole'.
'Are you ready to return to a normal life? Ask yourself this and take 10 minutes to think about it before you tell me,'' Mithun told an overawed Nayana.
'I am offering you a job which will pay you Rs 3,000. I will finance your studies and my organisation, Aamra, will find a place for you to live,'' he added.
For 10 long minutes, there was absolute silence in the fimstar's central Calcutta hotel suite. All eyes were on the young girl.
'Yes, I will take it,'' she finally whispered, tears welling up in her eyes.
For someone who had saved up Rs 15,000 in the past eight months by entertaining five customers every night, and was hoping to escape to freedom in a year's time, Mithun's gesture was like an impossible dream come true.
'They killed my father, who was an officer in Golabari police station. My elder brother got a job in the US and left me and my mother to fend for ourselves,'' Nayana told her new-found 'brother'.
'When my mother was sufering from leukemia, I sold my jewellery and withdrew all our savings for her treatment. Then, she died and the world went dark. I had nobody to turn to and...'
Suddenly, Nayana went quiet.
'Are you feeling shy? You are my adopted sister. Tell me why you took to this trade,'' asked Mithun gently.
'My relatives, neighbours were after my blood. No one came forward to help me. I wanted to continue my studies at any cost. There was no alternative but to sell myself,'' she concluded.
'This is unimaginable,' exclaimed the filmstar, before directing his personal secretary to finalise a job and accommodation for Nayana 'immediately'.
Meanwhile, several individuals and organisations contacted The Telegraph on Tuesday, offering to bail Nayana out.
Among them were Coates of India, Trisys Communication, Rainbow Productions, and a New York-based NRI.
Local councillor and CPM leader Sudhanshu Sil said he would extend 'all help' to get the girl out of Sonagachhi.
But by the looks of it, a filmi hero with his heart in the right place is enough to give Nayana a new life.