Euphoria frontman Dr Palash Sen received flak on Wednesday after he posted a photo with Pakistani singer Atif Aslam. The Maeri singer lauded Aslam’s contribution towards Bollywood music and wrote, “According to me, the one singer — musician who has made the maximum impact on Bollywood’s music and most singers over the last 15 years, is this man. The awesome @atifaslam. I say this with a lot of humility. He has style, panache and that nasal twang that most singers in Bollywood tried to imitate. And his music is still copied by some leading music directors .. the Minor chord Kings!! This pic is 10 years old, when both of us collaborated for our concert in Abu Dhabi. And both Indians and Pakistanis sang along and danced together. Music Unites!! (sic).”

While some internet users supported his “music unites” stance, most criticized him for praising an artiste from across the border. When we reached out to Sen, the 56-year-old said, “I don’t think people understood the essence of my post. I was hinting at many more things than endorsing Atif. My question was basic: Do we lack talent that there was so much influence from one musician on Bollywood? I think Atif did make a big impact, hence Bollywood forgot our own talent and started following his way of singing/making music.”

He added, “We Indians give so many opportunities to everybody, but I don’t think we get the same from other countries. I don’t mind getting trolled if people eventually do understand my purpose and start asking bigger questions.”