Rahman's September 10 'Marakkuma Nenjam' (Can the heart forget) had run into a controversy over allegations of mismanagement, resulting in traffic snarls on the busy East Coast Road, ticket-holders being denied entry into the venue and alleged sexual harassment of women among others.
Credit: X/@actcevents
Organiser of A R Rahman’s live-in concert on Wednesday tendered an unconditional apology for mismanagement and overcrowding at the event on September 10 and promised refund for valid ticket holders who couldn’t enter the venue, even as they appealed to the people not to target the legendary music composer.
The apology came as the Tambaram Police appeared to blame the organisers for recruiting “inexperienced” college students instead of bouncers to control the crowd and making inadequate arrangements for the audience. Police identified “overselling” of tickets beyond the capacity that the venue can hold as the major reason for the chaos.
Hemanth Raja, founder and CEO, ACTC Events, which has come under a cloud for the confusion at the event which led to traffic jams in several parts of the East Coast Road and disruption in the movement of Chief Minister M K Stalin’s convoy, released a video, clarifying his stand on the controversy.
Raja, in the video uploaded on his Instagram page, said ACTC Events takes “full responsibility” and is “accountable” for the fiasco – people who bought tickets by shelling out thousands of rupees claimed they were not allowed while several women alleged that they were molested and groped.
“Our aim to give an unforgettable experience to fans of A R Rahman. But due to unavoidable circumstances and unforeseen situations, many fans who bought tickets couldn’t enter the venue. ACTC Events takes responsibility for the incident. We will fully refund the amount to those who couldn’t enter the concert venue,” he said.
Raja also said Rahman cannot be blamed for the incident as he was not “responsible” for organising the event as his only job was to entertain his fans. “He was focussing his energy on making the show a success. Please don’t target A R Rahman for the fiasco. He is not at all responsible,” Raja added.
The organiser also said many people who had booked for Rahman’s concert in August, which was cancelled due to rains, turned up for the Sunday’s show, making things difficult for them.
Police said while the capacity at the venue was only 20,000 people, nearly 50,000 arrived on Sunday. Raja also said they sold 36,000 tickets and gave 5,000 tickets complimentary to various sources.
“We have gathered that the students who were posted to control the crowds neither had prior experience nor proper training. We have asked the organisers to give a detailed report on the arrangements made,” a senior police officer said.
Meanwhile, Naam Tamizhar Katchi (NTK) chief S Seeman and CPI(M) state secretary K Balakrishnan condemned the attempts to “target” Rahman and inject communal angle to the incident.
Tamil Nadu BJP treasurer S R Shekhar on Monday termed Rahman as “communal” and that he always used majority Hindus for his “advantage.” “Now, Hindus have been humiliated,” he had said.