Popular Bollywood singer Kanika Kapoor, known for chartbusters like "Baby Doll" and "Chittiyan kalaiyaan", says she faced severe criticism at the beginning of her career for being a bad live performer, but she worked on her craft to master the art. As an artiste, she says she strives to establish a deeper connect with the audience.

"I am working hard constantly... Like a contestant of life in the journey to know music better. I do not have any ego to listen to criticism, and learn something from there, so that I can work on my craft," Kanika told IANS in an interview here. "Now I am not only a playback singer, but also a performing artiste. But at the beginning of my career, people said on my face that I am a 'sh** performer'," she added. Kanika chose not to make it an ego issue.