Samina Chowdhury

Renowned singer Samina Chowdhury said that she always felt drawn to acting while growing up and her long-cherished dream was realised recently.

Samina made her small screen debut with a drama series, which was aired during Eid-ul-Azha. She shared her feelings of making her acting debut, ongoing projects and more.

‘Though I was brought up in a family where singing was commonplace, I always wanted to be an actress. My dream was realised this year. I made my small screen debut with an Eid special drama series,’ Samina Chowdhury told New Age.

‘I acted in a seven-episode drama series titled Rupkatha. It was directed by Tariq Mohammad Hasan and aired on Baishakhi TV,’ added Samina, who is also trying her hand at directing music videos.

‘I have directed several music videos of my songs. The videos were uploaded on my YouTube channel. I am getting a lot of enjoyment from trying my hand at directing,’ said Samina.

She opened her YouTube channel named Samina Chowdhury’s Studio in 2016 but did not maintain a good online presence. She started uploading videos regularly after the government announced lockdown to contain the spread of Covid-19.

‘I was never regular on YouTube but I decided to maintain a good online presence amid the lockdown. I have been uploading my singing videos and others on my channel,’ she mentioned.

Samina is uploading videos depicting her journey, inside stories of the music industry and others on her channel under a series titled Shei Theke Shuru. One video is released every week on Thursday and so far six videos have been released.

The singer has recently recorded two songs, which will be uploaded on her channel soon.

Samina Chowdhury and her sister Fahmida Nabi have recorded cover versions of popular songs of their father, the late legendary playback singer Mahmudun Nabi.

‘A few years ago I released cover versions of some popular songs of my father Mahmudun Nabi in an album titled Durpari. It was released under the banner of my production house World Music Bangla. I recorded another album named Amar Ganer Prante with my sister Fahmida Nabi. Each of us sang five songs in the album, which was released under the banner of Bengal Music in 2018,’ said Samina.

She has also been releasing songs on the YouTube channel of World Music Bangla.

‘The Covid-19 crisis made us realise the importance of online platforms. We are re-releasing many old songs that were released in CD albums on the YouTube channel of World Music Bangla,’ said Samina, who also spoke about the impact of Covid-19 on the local music industry.

‘I did only a few stage shows in the last few years. The singers who earn their bread and butter performing in stage shows are struggling to put food on the table for their families. A lot of people who work as production crew members have lost their jobs. I hope the situation will improve in the coming days,’ concluded Samina.