PremiumKarthi lends his support to AR Rahman, urges fans to choose love over hate amid concert row
The Ponniyin Selvan 2 music director has come under fire after severe mismanagement by the event producers at the Marakkuma Nenjam concert
Last Updated: 11.34 AM, Sep 12, 2023
It was a concert to remember for a legion of AR Rahman fans on Sunday, albeit not for the right reasons. The Marakkuma Nenjam concert held at OMR in Chennai had people coming in droves, so much so that those with valid tickets, too, couldn't enter the venue. Since the venue and the road leading toward it was packed to the rafters, there were many incidents of groping, molesting, children going missing and people being treated badly by the organisers. The event, needless to say, has left a bad taste in the mouth for many ARR fans.
Karthi backs ARR
Meanwhile, actor Karthi, has come out in support of AR Rahman. It is to be noted that ARR was the composer for his last outing Ponniyin Selvan 2. Taking to his social media handle, Karthi wrote that he, too, was at the concert amid the chaos. He also requested fans to choose love over hate, just like ARR does.
His tweet read, "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. #LoveAboveHate (sic)."
Also Read: Yuvan Shankar Raja backs AR Rahman after Chennai concert row, says 'Let us hope lessons are learned'
Yuvan Shankar Raja lends his support to the composer
The Thalapathy 68 composer has put out a lengthy statement on his social media handle, supporting ARR. The statement read, "Organising an event of the magnitude of the concert is an immensely complex task, involving numerous moving parts, from logistics and crowd control to traffic management. Even with the best intentions things go awry. 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."
He added, "As a fellow musician, I empathise with the situation and stand by AR Rahman, considering the unfortunate events, especially when the concert was intended to give fans a memorable night, for all the right reasons."