The recently held AR Rahman concert, Marakkuma Nenjam, drew flak from scores of attendees who complained of mismanagement, assault and harrowing experiences. While the composer expressed his dissatisfaction towards the incident, music composer Yuvan Shankar Raja, along with many from the film fraternity, have come forth to show solidarity.
Many who attended the concert took to social media to share their grouse about the poor management, their miserable experience, along with cases of assault as well. Some also blamed for long queues, mismanagement of the crowd and absence of responsibility from the organiser side.
Taking to social media X, Yuvan shared a statement stating how organising a concert is an "immensely complex task" which includes a number of pointers from logistics to traffic and crowd management. "Even with the best intentions, things can go awry causing intense distress to the very people who make our music meaningful-our fans," he wrote.
Yuvan said that it is "crucial" that organisers "reflect" on the incident. He continued, "As performers, we place our trust in these producers to ensure that everything runs smoothly and our fans are well taken care of while we're on stage. It is truly disheartening to witness such a situation unfold and it even urges artists, including myself to take on an active role in planning and safety measures.”
Yuvan said that as a "fellow musician" he "empathised with the situation and stand by AR Rahman". He also hoped that going forth, event organisers execute with utmost care and consider the safety of people.
Actor Karthi, also showed his support for Rahman and said, "We have known and loved Rahman sir for more than 3 decades now... What happened during the concert was unfortunate. However, knowing sir he would be immensely affected by it. My family too was at the concert amid the chaos but I stay with #ARRahman sir and I hope the event organizers take responsibility. I request all the fans to choose love over hate as Rahman sir always gave his love to all."
Actor and politician Kushboo explained how her daughter and friends were among those who were denied entry despite having diamond pass. However, she said that Rahman cannot be held responsidble for the problems that people faced. “It was a complete failure of the management who did not fathom the gravity of the overwhelmingly overflowing crowd for a #ARR live performance. Rahman has always shared love and peace, through his music, his words and his actions. Let's continue to give him all that he deserves. Let us stand with him and tell him all will be well,” she said.
Khatija Rahman, composer and Rahman's daughter, also took to social media to say that the organisers are to be blamed.; She also shared instances from the past concerts and pointed out at Rahman's kind gestures, including organising free concert in 2022 for supporting lightmen crew.
Shweta Mohan shared a note, expressing her dissatisfaction over the turn of events. "Does ARR sir deserve such perpetrators as fans attending his concert? He deserves better, way better. In every concert he dedicates a song especially to women as reminder to every man of the respect he needs to carry for every woman. But Alas!" she wrote.