Palash Sen has reopened the conversation around paid negative PR in Bollywood, and this time he has named Salman Khan. In an interview with Screen, the Euphoria founder said the superstar’s Bigg Boss 20 comments about industry manipulation were important, but incomplete, because he says Khan was “part of the problem.”
What started the row on Bigg Boss 20
During a Weekend Ka Vaar episode, Salman Khan criticised online trolling and the practice of paying fan clubs and accounts to pull down actors. He defended Katrina Kaif when she faced online criticism about her weight after giving birth, and questioned how an industry that buys film ratings can lecture anyone about ethics.
“I know who trolls me… They are making money by putting you down,” Khan said on the episode.
Palash Sen’s response
Sen did not dismiss the comments. He called them “very, very brave.” But he said the message rang hollow because the culture didn’t begin with junior people. “He’s a part of starting this,” Sen said. “Problems never arise from the bottom of the hierarchy; it starts from the top.”
He put it more sharply: “If you live by the sword, you are also going to get killed by the sword.”
The line between organic and paid outrage
Sen recalled a trailer featuring an A-list female actor that received far more dislikes than likes, after which YouTube disabled the dislike feature. He said it is now difficult for anyone to separate an organic backlash from a funded one.
“100 per cent, we don’t know whether this was scripted or it was really organic,” he said about Khan’s Bigg Boss segment.
What he is really claiming
- Accused Salman Khan of being part of the negative PR culture he criticised.
- Argued such problems start at the top, not the bottom of the hierarchy.
- Questioned whether the Bigg Boss moment was scripted or organic.
- Recalled YouTube removing dislikes after a major female star’s trailer was downvoted.
Why Palash Sen’s words carry weight
Sen is not a new commentator. He trained as a doctor before founding Euphoria in 1998, one of India’s most recognised independent bands, and later acted in Filhaal alongside Tabu and Sushmita Sen. In August 2026, he and Euphoria released Dhoomsday, marking almost three decades in music.
What it means for fans
For celebrity watchers, the episode is a reminder that social media sentiment can be manufactured. A spike in dislikes or a coordinated hashtag does not always reflect what audiences actually feel. The most useful habit is to watch for repeated patterns and timings, not any single viral moment.
Source: Hindustan Times
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