Kuchh toh log kahenge, logo ka kaam hai kehna’- It is highly probable that Kutle Khan might have ditched his own songs and would have opted to hear Kishore Kumar’s song from Amar Prem (1972) starring Rajesh Khanna these last few days. For those who were busy doing vipassana these last few days, let me summarize what happened.
On October 24, singer Shilpa Rao’s live performance at the 10th-anniversary edition of the Bollywood Music Project in Mumbai was abruptly cut short. Her microphone and stage lights were switched off mid-set, and while she tried to quickly address and thank the audience, the next act (Kutle Khan Project) began performing on stage while she was still onstage. The internet, which is forever in need of a punching bag, started to blame Kutle Khan, along with the organizers, for treating an artist in such a disrespectful manner. While Shilpa said that the experience had left her hurt, she also thanked her fans for singling along even when the music had stopped, and the support she received online.
The organizers too issued their own clarification, mentioning how curfew restrictions and delays by other artists had led to such a situation.
And there lies the real culprit.
Let’s start with the second point- ‘delays caused by other artists.’ Many of those who were in attendance had mentioned how another artist had exceeded their time, which caused a significant delay. As luck would have it, another artist got caught in the crossfire. As far as curfew restrictions and event related delays go, anyone who has been associated backstage with the organizing of a show knows the absolute chaos that happens behind the scenes. This chaos is never witnessed by those in the audience, but when hell does break lose, we only get to see the train wreck, not what led to it. Fact of the matter is, that Rao unfortunately bore the unfortunate brunt of the time shortage, while Khan was shown in bad light.
But then again, maybe even i have failed to make enough points through my argument. Worry not, in the day and age of OTT, soon enough you just might have an entire documentary dedicated to the entire incident, and then we can all grab our popcorn packets and get to know what really happened, and who really was to blame.