Famous singer Arijit Singh was supposed to host a show at Eco Park in Kolkata on the occasion of New Year. However, it has been cancelled. While the actual reason behind the cancellation is yet to be revealed, Bhartiya Janta Party has alleged that it's a political decision as a few days back he sang 'Gerua' at Kolkata International Film Festival, which was originally picturised on Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol.
Amid the row, Kolkata mayor Firhad Hakim has broken his silence and shed some light on the matter to clarify the actual reason behind the cancellation. As per a report by Free Press Journal, Hakim has clarified that permission was not granted for it to avoid a clash with a scheduled event to mark India's G-20 Presidency. According to the report, he said, “The event marking India's G-20 Presidency will take place at the Convention hall, which is just opposite the Eco Park. Several foreign dignitaries are likely to attend that event.”
Elaborating the issue further, the mayor further added, “Huge crowds would have gathered for Arijit Singh's show and it would have been difficult to handle such volumes of spectators. The police rightly felt that conducting such a big event just opposite the Convention Hall could result in a law-and-order problem.”
The mayor also mentioned that a Salman Khan show has also been cancelled for the same reason. The report quoted him saying, “Owing to concerns about law-and-order problems, the events of Salman Khan and Arijit Singh had to be cancelled. Also, we didn't receive any application for the programme at Eco Park.”
For the unversed, it all started when Dr Indranil Khan, State President of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, West Bengal, questioned why Arijit's show was cancelled. In a tweet, he had written, “Why has Arijit Singh's show at Eco Park been cancelled by WB Govt body HIDCO, The result of Arijit humming 'Rang de tu mohe Gerua' in front of Her Excellency at KIFF? Intolerance scales new heights.”
A section of internet users speculated if Arijit singing 'Gerua' in front of Shah Rukh Khan, who was also present at KIFF 2022, was only a tribute to the star or a hidden jibe, amid the ongoing 'Besharam Rang' controversy.
source https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/bollywood/arijit-singhs-west-bengal-concert-cancelled-reason-not-singing-gerua/