‘AR Rahman is not one to blame, we take full responsibility’: ACTC Events on Chennai concert fiasco

On Sunday, AR Rahman performed in Chennai where several suffered due to poor management. Here's what the event organiser said.

Days after AR Rahman’s Marakkuma Nenjam concert in Chennai, the event organiser, ACTC Events has issued a statement apologising for the mismanagement. The CEO of the company, Hemanth Raja took to Instagram and shared a video urging people to not blame AR Rahman as he took responsibility for the incident. Tickets for the concert were allegedly oversold which led to a stampede-like situation at the venue where many women also claimed they were groped and harassed.

AR Rahman's controversial concert left many traumatised due to mismanagement.

AR Rahman Chennai concert organiser

The CEO of the event organiser said in the clip, “Our goal was to guarantee an unforgettable night of Rahman sir’s songs for his fans. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, many couldn’t access the venue. We accept full responsibility for this and are accountable.”

He further added that AR Rahman had no role in the incident and said, “He is not one to blame. It's completely our mistake. Don't spread negativity about him. He did his job one hundred per cent and the majority were enjoyed, but we failed. We take full responsibility.” He also claimed that they didn't oversell tickets and added that the incident happened due to ticket duplication and overcrowding. He also said that the company would be providing refunds to those who bought tickets but couldn’t attend the show and urged them to get in touch with them with all details. His post read, “We are with you.”

Internet reacts to apology

Responding to the post, one user wrote in the comments, “This just doesn't match the depth of the apology one would expect for such a colossal blunder that this was and I'm not even someone who purchased a ticket to the event. Refunding tickets is not enough to compensate the eventgoers for the trauma stories. What about their wasted time? What about the efforts they made to just get to the event? This is a lousy apology at best. Your victims deserve better than this.” “You guys managed to spoil everything. Thank you that you had courtesy 3 days later to upload an apology post at the least. It was truly all your mistake … that man did one thing wrong that was to hire you guys. You guys had the audacity to turn off comments in your posts, report any comments related to event and when things blow up decided to upload an apology video. Great job spoiling our day and violating our money,” added another. One more commented, “You spoiled the ARR name.”

The incident happened on Sunday when AR Rahman performed at Marakuma Nenjam concert at Adityaram Palace in Chennai's Paniyur. Later the next day, the event organisers tweeted, “Grateful to Chennai and the legendary @arrahman Sir! The incredible response, the overwhelming crowd made our show a massive success. Those who couldn’t attend on overcrowding, Our sincere apologies. We take full responsibility and accountable. We are with you. #MarakkumaNenjam”