AR Rahman apologises after Chennai concert stampede

Oscar winning music composer AR Rahman has addressed the controversial Marakuma Nenjam concert held in Chennai on September 10 where numerous fans reported cases of harassment, molestation and suffocation due to poor management, leading to a stampede. Speaking with The Hindu, the ‘Dil Se’ composer apologised and said he was “deeply disturbed” by the reports. The maestro said he would refund all the tickets, asking people to reach out to him through email to elaborate on other problems at the concert.

“It was a tsunami of people and love that we were unable to handle. As a composer, my job was to give a terrific show, and I thought everything else would be taken care of. I was just thinking that it shouldn’t rain, and was happily performing inside, without any idea of what was happening outside. Our intentions were good, but I think the response was beyond our expectations. We are collecting the data now, and we will surprise fans with something soon.”

The singer elaborated on the events of the evening and what had gone wrong:

 “The organisers (ACTC events) had put together about 46,000 chairs in the venue. In some sections, everybody sat on one side and didn’t move to the other side. Seeing this, the policemen on duty assumed that the venue was full and closed it. By this time, the show had already started inside.”

Indian publication The Quint spoke with several women about the harassment and poor management they had witnessed at AR Rahman’s concert, describing how several children were crying after being separated from their parents and ambulances that couldn’t reach those who had fainted.

A 22-year-old lawyer said she was groped multiple times for half an hour while trying to find the exit along with her mother.

“I lost count of the number of times I got groped yesterday. After a while, I gave up and didn’t try to defend myself. I tried pushing them, punching them, but they kept touching me. So I had no choice but to stand still.”

A 45-year-old corporate professional brought along her 10-year-old to the concert, said, “At one point I started crying in panic because of the stampede while collecting tags.”

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