Singer Neha Bhasin, who recently celebrated her 40th birthday, says age has made her “seasoned and more confident about who I am”. In a candid chat ,she spoke about staying the course despite being criticized for her bold personal style.

“My career has been more than just playback singing, and everything I do is very audio visual,” she says, adding, “I grew up on western music, so my perception was based on what I consumed as a child, on the divas of the 90s, which was a time when music was becoming more visual. So, I felt alienated and judged being this way. People commented, ‘talented toh hai but I don’t like her as a person,’ or, ‘this is not how a singer should behave,’ and ‘she is an attention seeker’. Because of this criticism, my persona did get diluted during the growing years. But I stayed consistent and didn’t change. So, now they know, whatever they say, I am not going away.”

Commenting on being trolled for her dressing, she says, “This has been my struggling point. In our patriarchal society, a woman living like a man, dressing as she wants, doing bold dance moves, is viewed more as titillation than owning one’s sensuality. I know who I want to present myself as, which is not acceptable to many. Initially it was unnerving because I’ve been taken off stage due to my lyrics and dress. And I wondered if I should change. But then I realized that if I change my style, it’s like being apologetic for who I am.”