AR Rahman Responds to Criticism Over Chaos at Chennai Concert

Dearest Chennai Makkale, Share Your Grievances

Musician AR Rahman on Monday responded to a barrage of criticism on and off social media over the chaos at his concert in Chennai on September 10, and asked people who couldn’t enter the venue to contact the event organisers with their grievances.

• Rahman requests those who couldn’t enter the concert to share a copy of their ticket purchase and grievances with the event organisers.

Offering Himself as the “Sacrificial Goat”

Rahman shared a screenshot of his post on Instagram, offering himself as the “sacrificial goat” and hoping for improved infrastructure for future concerts.

Tamil Nadu Police Starts Probe

The Tamil Nadu police initiated a probe into the traffic and other arrangements made for the concert following the chaos.

• Tambaram commissioner Amal Raj mentioned that about 50,000 people turned up for the concert, exceeding the expected number of 20,000.

Criticism Over Concert Organization

Video clips shared on social media showed people complaining about being denied entry despite having valid passes and alleged overselling of tickets by the organisers.

• Organisers face criticism for mismanagement of the concert, including lack of security, off-centered seats, and no bouncers to manage the areas.

Concert Organisers’ Response

ACTC Events apologised to the people who were stranded outside the venue and referred to the concert as a “massive success”.

About the Author

Divya Chandrababu is an award-winning political and human rights journalist based in Chennai, India. Divya is presently Assistant Editor of the Hindustan Times where she covers Tamil Nadu & Puducherry. She started her career as a broadcast journalist at NDTV-Hindu where she anchored and wrote prime time news bulletins. Later, she covered politics, development, mental health, child and disability rights for The Times of India. Divya has been a journalism fellow for several programs including the Asia Journalism Fellowship at Singapore and the KAS Media Asia- The Caravan for narrative journalism. Divya has a master’s in politics and international studies from the University of Warwick, UK. As an independent journalist Divya has written for Indian and foreign publications on domestic and international affairs….view detail