How this village grandmother went from tilling land to becoming YouTube sensation

Naveen S Garewal
Tribune News Service
Hyderabad, August 20

She can pass off for any other woman from a village, but she is no ordinary person. Elderly but not old, till a few years ago Gangavva Milkuri worked on the farm and led a life any farmworker would, but today social media has turned her into a sensation. She is the star of MyVillage Show, a YouTube channel showcasing rural life with rustic humour and satire.

Till 2016, she used to work as a coolie, roll beedis, and even work on her in-laws' farmland. Each day was a routine as life in Lambadipally village of Mallial Mandal in Jagitial district, Telangana did not offer much to this grandmother of eight. One day two tech-savvy young men that included her son-in-law Srikanth Sriram and his friend Anil Geela came up with the idea of putting village life on a film and with this idea Gangavva's life took a flight.

Today Gangavva shuttles between her village and Hyderabad as a Tollywood star. In four years she has done promos and acted in many Telugu serials after her talent was recognised and her acting skills highlighted by the YouTube videos in My Village Show channel run by Sriram and Geela.

Gangavva dealt with an alcoholic husband, looked after her son and two daughters and the family's farmland till a few years ago. But the Internet and social media changed her life. After her husband died, she got the opportunity to explore her hidden talent and become a celebrity. In a recent media interview, when asked about the change in her life she said, "If we believe in our strengths, anything can happen. We must strongly want it to happen. I believed in the possibility that I could act."

Known by her first name, Gangavva says she had no idea what YouTube was before Sriram started the show. "Sriram filmed plants, shrubs and trees in the village, but I tough the boy was wasting his time? I had never imagined the video would one day change my life”, he told an interviewer recently.

With no formal education beyond first grade, Gangavva rolled beedis to support her family. Today, she proudly displays the YouTube plaque sent to her last year for “My Village Show” reaching one million subscribers.

Encouraged by the YouTube response, Gangavva life has extended beyond, she has 41,000 followers on her Instagram account that is followed by filmmakers and many other, resulting in her featuring in two Telugu language movies -- iSmart Shankar and Mallesham.

It’s obvious that she enjoys herself being in front of a camera and it does not stop there, she obliges all her fan by taking selfies with fans who visit her. From an unknown village, Lambadipally has now turned into a celebrity’s village, encouraging many young and old alike to follow Gangavva’s footsteps into becoming an online sensation.