Singer Shaan, who has seen the music industry evolve from a pre-social media era to today’s hyper-digital space, says he now enjoys engaging online, even if it comes with occasional unpleasant moments. Many younger users recognize him from an Instagram Live where he responded to online abuse, but the singer says he has no regrets.

“I enjoy this whole new medium and feel it’s a great way to directly connect with your audience. It’s a good time pass and I don’t take it very seriously,” he says.

On dealing with trolls, he adds, “Earlier, it would affect me a little. I’d try to clarify because sometimes they hold the wrong end of something, but later I realized there’s no point. Samjhane se behtar hai khud samajh jao.”

The 53-year-old recently composed the track Ankhiyaan, marking singer-turned-politician Babul Supriyo’s return to Hindi music after more than seven years. Asked whether the composer in him gets overshadowed by the singer, he says the move was “never about proving a point”.

“We all go through phases in our career and, at the end of the day, you want to sing. So I thought I will compose my own songs. For any singer, the best thing is to be busy behind a mic,” he says.

He adds the decision was also about creative independence. “I wanted to stay busy in my music and not keep worrying about when the phone will ring and some composer will call me to sing. The composing was also so I could create the Shaan music label, put my compositions out and fulfil my creativity.”