Palash Sen says his comment has been blown out of proportion

Much has been said about Palash Sen's alleged sexist remarks during a concert at IIT Bombay on December 21. But the whole incident, clarifies the Euphoria frontman, has been "blown out of proportion". "The whole thing has become a controversy and people are now taking sides. There are activists and people who weren't even there at the concert, who are involved in the issue. It's heartbreaking," says Sen.

The singer got embroiled in a controversy when a student of IIT Bombay, Arpita Phukan Biswas, wrote a blog post about Sen's alleged sexist comments during his concert at the Mood Indigo festival.

The singer describes how the entire episode played out: "Right before the fifth song, which was 'Tum', I asked the crowd "Where are all the girls?" And there were only a few voices in the crowd. I said there are so many beautiful girls in the audience, where are they from? The guys said, "They are not IITians. We have got them from outside.

I said women are the most beautiful creations in the world and men are the most intelligent. Men need intelligence to recognise beauty. And then I said, "a few years later, these girls will make roti for the guys, and the men will have to press their legs."

He continues, "Later, a girl came to me backstage and said I must apologise for my 'sexist' remarks. I apologised to her and came on stage and dedicated a song ('Kaise bhoolegi mera naam') to her."

It was much later that he got to know about Biswas' blog. "I heard that a woman had written a blog on it and blown it all out of proportion. I tried calling her up but she said she didn't want to speak to me. Now, the issue has turned into a complete personal attack on me and my family."

"I hadn't gone there to take a lecture nor was it a political rally. It was a rock concert. At the end of the day, it's just entertainment. Some people don't have a sense of humour," he says.