After three days of fans venting their anger on social media without any explanation, Black Horse (M) Sdn Bhd today held a press conference (which was also delayed) to explain why it wasn’t their fault the AR Rahman Live in Concert 2016 was delayed for a good 3 hours and caused huge disappointment to the stadium filled fans who were sitting in the rain! The concert which was supposed to start at 8pm, started close to 11pm and came to an end at 1am.
Black Horse (M) Sdn Bhd chairman R Chandra (right) with its director David Raja (left) at the press conference
To know what happened during the concert, read AR Rahman Live in Concert KL 2016
Heard about the viral screenshot blaming AR Rahman, read Black Horse blames AR Rahman?
In the press conference, Black Horse Chairman and Director told the media (Malay Mail
Online, Thina Tanthi, Thendral) that the concert would have been the best of
the year only if it didn’t rain or at least if they had control over the event
flow.
Black Horse Chairman R Chandra:
“When we do a project and no one comments,
then it’s a failure. When there are comments, it shows we have put in our
effort. If only it didn’t rain, it would have been the best show of the year!
We are happy that people waited for the show to start. Besides 95% of those who
came didn’t have negative comments. They enjoyed the show. Also wasn’t the show fast moving once it started? We did not do this 100% Tamil show for money, but are sad with the
feedbacks. VVIP audience did not say anything though. The show in fact went on continuously, no gap, in some other concerts the artist only
appears during the last 45 minutes or even worse never show up”
Could you explain the delays?
It was the rain. The show was
close to no show, but Sir and I took the risk. Sir’s management initially didn’t
want to start the show due to safety reasons, but we then agreed to do it for the sake of audience who were
waiting for hours in the rain. One thing that went wrong was rain. Sir’s side
wanted to be safe and we don’t blame them. But we were fighting for the
audience. The decision to continue the show was made in the 2/3 hours before
the show started.
Did you not expect the rain/downpour?
It was not raining the week
before. Setting up the stage took 10 days and we could not have changed
anything a few days before concert. We could not change the stage setting or
venue to an indoor stadium. There isn’t an indoor stadium in Kuala Lumpur to
accommodate 10k crowd. Besides, the fact that the equipment were not for
indoor, an indoor stadium stage can’t fit over 100 dancers, musicians etc. who were brought in.
Why was the stage setting not prepared to face that?
The setting up of the stage was
as required by Sir and his team. We followed their requirements. I would say all
was fine until the day. With the rain. What you saw was just 60 per cent of
what we planned. We also had plans for dancers dropping from the sky, but of
course with the rain it could not happen.
I saw the stage roof leaking, how come?
(umbrellas held on stage, music instruments covered)
No, the stage was not leaking. It
was heavy wind. The heavy wind towards the stage direction caused the wet
stage. We also had to take responsibility for any instrument damaged (insurance
covered). There was so much damages. Also the stage roof could not be brought
forward, as we had the sparks effects coming out and if it was extended, the
sparks will hit the power cables on the roof.
Why was there no announcement to tell audience what was
happening at the stadium?
We only had ownership over the
stage till 3 days before the show. Once we handed it over to the AR’s team, we had
no form of control. The other side of the barricade was no longer under our
jurisdiction. We can't event go up the stage or back stage. We also had our MCs from THR but we were told not to use the
microphone, as if there was any electrical tripping, the show will have to
stop immediately.
But I saw 3 announcements made by artists?
(Shakthisree, Vijay Prakash and Shakthisree, Rahman sir)
The team only opened the
microphones then. We were not allowed on stage to
announce anything. Sir’s management didn’t allow. We were told if hold the
microphone it will cause short circuit. There were also local artists and a
traditional opening, but with the rain we could not do any of it.
Was there a plan B?
We could have postpone, but it
will cause a lot of inconvenience to fans who came from far and damage/loss on
our end. This is a multi million-dollar project. We did not want to disappoint
fans if postponed. We then decided to discuss with Sir’s team and agreed to go ahead with it.
Both sides took risks. We pushed for it because the audience were important to
us. We could have changed the location, reduced the size of audience,
performers to bring down other expenses. But we did not, as it will bring so
much inconvenience for those who came from outstation/overseas.
Why were there no performances or at least songs played before the
real show started?
The show was programmed by Sir’s
team and we can’t do anything. It was programmed from start to end. We could
not even play any songs. Finally, a bit later we managed to get the team to agree for some songs to be played. We repeated the trailers because that was the only thing we could do.
There were complains on cheaper ticket holder seating at the VIP
seats…
We had our security. But with the
rain it was hard to control. Someone jumped over the barricade and broke his
leg. On those seating at the VIP seats with RM100 tickets, we can’t chase them.
How will you respond to those who have complaint to the National
Consumer Complaints Centre?
We will have our legal team advice
us. We will look into the terms and conditions. We are ready to face
it.
Why was no explanation given a little earlier?
Sir was our guest. We had to
settle them (the team) first. We sent him off at the airport this morning and
here we are now to explain as fans would not know what happened back stage and
that’s why they are angry.
Did AR sir say he will come back?
He wants to come back for his
fans here. We will organise a small show to satisfy fans after what happened. The next
will be an indoor show. We have plans and will need the support from fans.
What will you like to say to the show audience?
We thank the audience for their patience. Thank Sir as he took the risk. We did the show for fans but for whom we did, they are now complaining. Although we can’t blame them, but they should understand how we feel. We spent so much, so we would feel bad about the delay as well. We fixed the date in January for when Sir is free, so much of planning and the three-hour delay put us in a bad light. There is disappointment, because we went all out not to disappoint them but so much is said online by fans who do not know what happened back stage. There were so many cables back stage and flooding due to the rain. We brought in Sid n Shakthisree as requested by fans. We made sure all the artists/dancers requirements were met from their airline or choice, hotel etc. All I'm saying is that we understand their frustration, but understand our situation too.
The fan in me went for the press conference expecting at least one apology, which I'm sure was what fans wanted as well. We do not need an apology for sitting in the rain or that you couldn't start because of the rain, but because you did not explain/update anything while we were waiting, in my case for over 3 hours. I expected something simple and general like this, "We are sorry fans were disappointed" . But, there were none. Because they say they did no mistake.
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