'I am a low profile person'--Camellia
Camellia started her career at the age of three, when the famous television host Fazle Lohani was impressed with her performance and gave her a break to act in a children's show on radio. She appeared in the media world, way back in 1958, with the Oklahoma song What a beautiful morning. She says, her mother, who was an eminent reciter and singer, was her true inspiration. She memorised the poems by Rabindranath Tagore Devotar Grash, Purashkar and Birpurush merely by listening to her mother when she could hardly speak. That was the beginning. Slowly she became a popular name on radio through hosting different programmes like Durbar and Uttaran.
Gradually, Camellia started to participate in different programmes when in college and afterwards in the university. Her first ever performance on television as a recitor was in 1973. From then on, she received offers to act in television drama as well.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. Among them was Zia Ansary, who gave her an offer to act in the lead role in the drama Tin Ghontar Biroti. Camellia recalls, 'Popular actor Asaduzzaman Noor played the main character, and the drama proved to be a great hit at that time.'
Camellia went on to act in 18 other plays, directed by eminent producers such as Mustafa Kamal Syed, Mustafizur Rahman, Musa Ahmed, Syed Siddique Hossain and Kazi Abu Zafar Siddique.
She continued to compere in different shows featuring poetry, music or even news-based shows like Shurobani and Parikroma. She also hosted and directed many overseas programmes on Radio Bangladesh as well as in different radios like Australian radio.
Camellia has taken part in about 80 TV advertisements and is one of the first models of the country. The Pushparaj advertisement was used for about 24 consecutive years. She got offers to act in both mainstream and alternative films as well.
She acknowledges the contribution of her foster father, eminent reciter late Gulam Mustafa. She released an album containing the poems recited by Gulam Mustafa titled Pranganey Mor in the early 1990s.