Complete failure of management: Khushbu on AR Rahman's Chennai concert fiasco

CHENNAI: Actor and NCW member Khushbu Sundar on Tuesday said that top composer and two-time Oscar-Award winner AR Rahman should not be held responsible for the problems faced by the people, who went to his recent music concert in Chennai titled "Marakkuma Nenjam", which turned into a chaotic event on Sunday evening on ECR.

She said that her daughter and friends were also among the people, who were denied entry to the concert and said that the concert was a complete failure from the management side.

"Heard about the major chaos and difficulties faced by #ARR fans at the Chennai concert. Rahman has always made sure his fans are never disappointed. My daughter and her friends were among those who were denied entry despite a Diamond pass. It took them over 3 hours to reach the venue. It was very unfortunate," she wrote on X (formally Twitter).

Heard about the major chaos and difficulties faced by #ARR fans at the chennai concert. Rahman has always made sure his fans are never disappointed. My daughter and her friends were among those who were denied entry despite a Diamond pass. It took them over 3 hours to reach the…

— KhushbuSundar (@khushsundar) September 12, 2023

She further added, "But @arrahman cannot be held responsible for any of the problems that people have faced. It was a complete failure of the management who did not fathom the gravity of the overwhelmingly overflowing crowd for a #ARR live performance. Rahman has always shared love and peace, through his music, his words, and his actions. Let's continue to give him all that he deserves. Let us stand with him and tell him all will be well." (sic)

Khusboo's statement comes a day after BJP state treasurer S R Shekhar in social media stated that the Rahman's music is public while his thought process is of a religious fanatic. He also alleged Hindus who went to the concert were insulted.

A day after concertgoers took to social media about the poor organisation at the venue leading to choking and dehydration, the musician on Monday apologised for the inconvenience caused to the fans at the concert and said that he was terribly disturbed and wouldn't want to point fingers at others.

He also took to his social media handles and said that he would respond to the grievances of his audience and indicated that the ticket cost would be refunded.

Dearest Chennai Makkale, those of you who purchased tickets and weren’t able to enter owing to unfortunate circumstances, please do share a copy of your ticket purchase to arr4chennai@btos.in along with your grievances. Our team will respond asap@BToSproductions @actcevents

— A.R.Rahman (@arrahman) September 11, 2023

Meanwhile, Commissioner of Tambaram A Amalraj after an initial probe informed on Monday that the auditorium that hosted AR Rahman's concert has a capacity of 25,000 but the footfall was around 35,000 to 40,000 which resulted in the inconvenience and added that the discussion was held with the organisers to manage the crowd better and make facilities like toilets available.