AR Rahman is receiving flak for his ‘heartless’ statement about the chaos that unfolded at his Chennai concert, Marakkuma Nenjam. On Monday, the Oscar-winning music director took to X (previously known as X) to offer help after many fans complained that they were not allowed into the concert venue due to overcrowding. However, Rahman did not react to claims by several women that they were groped and molested by men at the concert. His reaction to the fiasco has not gone down well with social media users, with many slamming Rahman for his response.
His statement was shared on Reddit and many took to the comments section to criticise Rahman for the reaction. “Did he actually write this? What he wrote seems so out of context and just…..irrelevant,” a reddit user commented. “Sounds like a horrifying experience and while I love ARR’s work, what a pathetic response from A. R. Rahman. Yes the onus is definitely on the organizers of the concert but as the headlining name/crowd puller you should also take the precautions to make sure the event is going smoothly. You can’t just sit there blind and deaf to these things,” added another.
“What is wrong with him? Who responds like this!?” another asked. “It’s pathetic!! Now we can’t even go to concerts because of men. They literally just want us to stay at home but no we aren’t even safe at our own homes. And what is this response by ARR?” a social media user wrote.
(Trigger warning: Descriptions of sexual harassment.)
For the unversed, many women attending the concert took to social media platforms and said that they were groped and molested. A woman, under anonymity, told Quint, “I asked a man, whom I addressed as Anna (brother), the way to leave the venue as I had a panic attack. He looked me in the eye, and the next thing I knew, his hand was on my breasts and I was groped. I froze. I couldn’t move an inch. A horrific, traumatising experience I can never get over.”
Many also said that they had panic attacks due to the massive crowd and no space to move around. Following the complains, AR Rahman’s X handle tweeted, “Dearest Chennai Makkale, those of you who purchased tickets and weren’t able to enter owing to unfortunate circumstances, please do share a copy of your ticket purchase to [email protected] along with your grievances. Our team will respond asap????.”
In an interview with The Hindu, Rahman said, “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.”
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