He talks to The Daily Star on a mix of issues:

Any nickname?
Although I am known as Shubhro, my actual name is Shaibal.

Are you a morning person?
Yes, I am. I usually get up early and concentrate in my routine rewaz. I do a little warm up exercise and, most importantly, I say my prayers in the morning which is a must for me.

Are you involved in social work?
I work with the Acid Survivors Association. I wrote and composed the theme song for these acid victims Shat Manush Kakhono Acid Chhorey Na (An honest person never throws acid on another person) which was telecast on BBC television in 2000. And I performed in a good number of charitable programmes for under privileged and disabled children. My first concert was a charitable one in 1991 after a cyclone hit the coastal areas of Bangladesh. The concert was held in Dublin, Ireland.

What do you think about remix or remake songs?
Among all those remake and remix songs, I think, about 5 percent are noteworthy. The rest are nothing but trash. This is quite irritating. If one is interested in remaking a song the artiste must have a proper musical sense. Otherwise the total effort becomes a pain.

Interesting experience
In 2000 I attended the Bollywood Music Award function where I performed a Bangla song "Tirish Lakh Praner Binimoye" in front of a huge audience. About 25 popular and talented Indian artistes such as AR Rahman, Lucky Ali, Shyamak, Rubi Bhatia and others were also present. It was a pleasant experience for me to sing in Bangla and being complimented by senior artistes later on.

What was your breakthrough performance?
My first album Hamiliner Banshiwala was a massive hit. And all my albums, including Je Banshi Niye Gechhey, Shesh Chithi and my latest one Lolita were also major hits. I shot the first Bangladeshi music video abroad and the first Bangla video on satellite television was also mine. I have so many hits that it is hard to tell which one was the breakthrough. I had a wish to sing pure folk songs, which was fulfilled very recently. In my last album I have compiled some unsung folk songs that remained untouched for years. It was a dream-come-true to me.

Which season do you like most and why?
I just love the rainy season. I usually go for angling on rainy days. As a young boy, when I lived in Sylhet, I loved to listen to the sound of raindrops on our corrugated iron roof. I think there is nothing so appealing as this.

What is your most treasured possession?
I think it is my voice.

Your greatest regret?
In 1988 I appeared in a television play for the first time in my life. It was a drama serial titled "Shuktara". On that day, hundreds of students of Jagannath Hall of Dhaka University gathered in their television room to watch my performance. But unfortunately the roof of the building collapsed and many students died. This incident remains etched in my memory. After all they died only because they had opted to watch my performance.