Oscar-winner and India one of the most famous singers A R Rahman’s recent Chennai concert, ‘Marakkuma Nenjam’, recently became a huge controversy due to its poor management.
The concert was attended by a crowd of over 45,000 people. Here’s an insider’s version of what went wrong.
What went wrong?
Held on September 10 at Chennai’s Adityaram Palace City, the chaos outside the venue was evident, with long queues, traffic jams, and mismanagement of ticket holders.
Many fans who held valid tickets were left frustrated and angry, while some engaged in disputes with law enforcement and the event organizers, ACTC Events.
Inside the venue, the lack of an organizer crew to guide people to their allocated sections based on tickets only compounded the confusion.
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Despite Marakkuma Nenjam being one of India’s highest-selling shows, overselling tickets and crowd mismanagement turned it into a comedy of errors.
Rahman’s stance
Rahman, in his post-concert interview with the Indian media, confessed that he was blissfully unaware of the mayhem outside.
He even shared his surprise at the “tsunami of people and love” that his concert attracted and promised to “surprise fans with something soon,” which we hope involves a lesson in event management. For him, safety, particularly for women and children, was a concern amidst the chaos.
Rahman explained that the organisers had set up around 46,000 chairs, but some sections remained sparsely occupied, leading police to wrongly assume the venue was full and close its gates after the show had begun.
Promise of refunds
The popular musician has also promised to refund the amount of the tickets that people purchased but couldn’t attend the event.
