A. R. Rahman clarifies on ‘Marakkuma Nenjam concert chaos; says, “My job was to give a terrific show, and I thought…”

Oscar-winning music composer A. R. Rahman has expressed his deep regret and concern over the mismanagement of his recent concert ‘Marakkuma Nenjam’ in Chennai. The concert, which was held at the Adityaram Palace City on Sunday, September 11, saw over 45,000 people in attendance. However, many fans were left disappointed due to long queues, traffic snarls and lack of proper crowd management.

In a conversation with The Hindu, Rahman said that he was “terribly disturbed” by what had happened. He said that he had “no idea” about the mismanagement outside the venue and that he was “accountable” for what had happened.

“As a composer, my job was to give a terrific show, and I thought everything else would be taken care of,” Rahman said. “I was just thinking that it shouldn’t rain, and was happily performing inside, without any idea of what was happening outside.” Rahman further stated that he was “collecting the data” about what had happened and that he would “surprise fans with something soon”. He also said that he would “not let this happen ever again”.

He asserted, “Right now, we are just terribly disturbed. 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.”

A. R. Rahman describes his concert ‘Marakkuma Nenjam’ as a 90% success and a 10% loss. He says that the concert was a hit with the audience, who enjoyed listening to his hits spanning 30 years. However, he acknowledges that there were some problems with crowd management, which led to some fans being disappointed.

“The energy and love in Chennai is overwhelming; sometimes, when you love something too much, it goes away from you. I think that’s what has happened here. 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,” he concluded.

Also Read: Fans of A R Rahman slam his Chennai concert; accuse organizers of poor management