Hundreds of people who went to the recent AR Rahman concert at Chennai’s Adityaram Palace City took to the internet to express disappointment and anger, a response one would seldom expect after a Rahman show. Allegations of mismanagement, overcrowding, people getting hurt, and women being molested came to the fore, with many claiming that they were not able to get into the venue despite having valid tickets. Amidst this brewing controversy, the Chennai police have now raised suspicion that tickets were oversold by ACTC Events, the organisers of the show. Tambaram police Commissioner Amalraj told TNM that they are investigating this possibility. “We are looking into whether the organisers oversold the tickets. We understand that the venue has a capacity of 20,000 people and around 30,000 people turned up for the event,” he said.
The concert, titled ‘Marakkuma Nenjam’ (Can the heart forget), took place on Sunday, September 10, at the venue located in Chennai’s East Coast Road (ECR). Ticket holders told TNM that silver category tickets cost Rs 1000 while tickets to the premium lounge area was Rs 50,000. A representative from ACTC Events who spoke to TNM on the condition of anonymity said that the seating capacity of the venue was 1,00,000 and that they had made arrangements for 50,000 people. “When ticket holders were trying to enter the venue, they were trying to do so via one entrance. Based on the type of tickets they purchased, there were restrictions on where they could enter from, but seeing the crowd, we decided to open all the entrances. This confusion existed only for 20-30 minutes and after that, people started to move around and occupy other empty spaces in the venue. There was no major untoward incident after the crowd was cleared and that is why the show was not paused,” they said.
Though ACTC refused to disclose how many tickets were sold, the anonymous representative acknowledged that the event could have been managed better. “The gates were opened at 10 am and people slowly started coming as early as 3 pm. But as more ticket holders showed up, it began getting crowded and there was a traffic jam outside the venue. People were already frustrated because some of them had to wait for hours in traffic even before they could enter the venue. Later on, we opened the VIP zone to everyone, including people who did not buy VIP tickets, because we did not want anyone to miss the show. We acknowledge the fault on our part and we are not trying to blame anyone,” he added.
‘No coordination, toilets, or sign boards’, ticket holders recall ordeal
Kanimozhi Manahoran, who attended the concert with her husband, recalled that they left their home at 4 pm. “People are saying things like you should have left the house early. My husband and I left our home at 4 pm. We were at Sholinganallur by 4:45,” she said. She further told TNM that the traffic was moving very slowly and that they were stuck till 7 pm.
“Since our tickets were with friends, I got off two kilometres ahead and started walking to the venue entrance. It’s another 2 kilometre walk from there to the grounds where the concert was taking place. This entry point was via a narrow street and everyone, regardless of whether they had silver, gold, diamond or platinum tickets, was stuck there. There was only one separate dedicated entrance for the VIPs near the main road and everyone else was clubbed together on this narrow street. I couldn’t breathe or see what was happening ahead, the crowd was so thick. There were no sign boards or coordinators present to direct people. Everyone was suffocating, so they kept pushing others,” she recalled.
She also says that there was no one checking tickets according to whichever tier ticket holders had paid for. “The gold area was filled up with people who had silver tickets. There was no place. Friends of mine who’d bought even more expensive tickets like diamond and platinum said they hadn’t been able to find a place either. Despite this, even after the concert started, there was a counter outside selling tickets. Where will those people go even if they have a ticket? There was no place. I witnessed a woman holding her young son and crying. She told me that if she hadn’t caught him in the nick of time, he’d have been trampled on,” Kanimozhi further explained.
Kanimozhi also says there were almost no mobile toilet facilities available. “The only one that was there, the bouncers said, was exclusively for VIPs. They talked to us so humiliatingly as if they were doing us a favour by letting us come to the concert, while we’d paid for our tickets. Finally, a few women had to walk all the way to the Adityaram Properties office and beg them to let us use their restroom,” she said.
Kanimozhi’s husband, who was forced to park their car 2 kilometres away from the venue, was unable to even enter the concert area. She also says that due to poor mobile networks, people were unable to call and check on each other’s safety. “The concert was a treat for my husband and me since yesterday was our second wedding anniversary. We spent Rs 4000 on two gold tickets. Why did I need to suffer like this on my wedding anniversary?” she asked.
Another fan TNM spoke to, Lakshita Shankar, also had a terrible experience. “There’s bad management and then there’s no management. This was no management. I’ve been to many concerts and I can say so from experience. My friends and I, about 8 to 10 of us, bought gold tickets hoping for better seats. We’re students who’ve just started working. The LED screens kept going off and the audio was terrible,” Lakshita said.
“There was a point when I was pushed on the ground and somebody’s foot was on my back. I started screaming and shouting until people heard me and helped me up. I was light-headed and had an anxiety attack. I’ve taken the day off from work because I am unable to get out of bed. I can’t lift my arm,” she added. Lakshita also alleged that when she and her friends were leaving due to the chaos, they spotted police sitting on a parked fire engine, not attempting to control crowds despite the disorder and scuffle.
Both fans expressed their displeasure with not just the organisers whom they suspect oversold the tickets, but also with AR Rahman himself. “We went to the concert for Rahman, not for ACTC. But people are trying to say it’s not his fault. Shouldn’t he be held responsible too?” asked Kanimozhi.
As for the organisers, she further said, “The government needs to take action against them. It feels as if they took us for granted thinking ‘What can these people do?’ Even if they settle the money, who will be answerable for what we went through?”
‘Deeply disturbed’, AR Rahman
Meanwhile, AR Rahman responded to the controversy in an interview with The Hindu. He said that he is “deeply disturbed” by what happened at the concert and that his team is planning a surprise for his fans soon.
“Safety was the primary issue, especially because there were women and kids. I don’t want to point fingers at anyone, but we have to realise that the city is expanding, and the passion to consume music and art is also expanding. I am ambitious about making Chennai an arts capital, but with respect to what happened, I do not want to point fingers at anyone because I know people come to concerts for me, and not for who the organisers are,” Rahman noted.
He also said that he is taking this concert as an experience and using it as an opportunity to be more involved in the infrastructure and planning of his future concerts.