Ritesh Krishnan called out the Bollywood Music Project after singer Shilpa Rao’s microphone got cut off during her Mumbai concert on Saturday. Ritesh said the organisers were “selfish, petty, shameless” for stopping her interaction with fans. He felt angry seeing his wife treated with such disrespect by the event team.
Singer Shilpa Rao’s husband, Ritesh Krishnan, has spoken out against the Bollywood Music Project following a controversy at the singer’s Mumbai concert on Saturday. Ritesh accused the organisers of trying to shape the narrative around the incident after Shilpa’s microphone was reportedly cut off while she was thanking the audience at the end of her performance.
Taking to Instagram on Sunday night, Ritesh thanked the audience for supporting Shilpa and expressed his disappointment over how the evening ended. He also praised his wife and spoke about the emotional impact of watching her go through the situation.
“I felt angry. I felt disappointed. I felt helpless!! And more than anything, it hurt to see someone I love and admire so deeply being put through this,” Ritesh wrote.
He went on to highlight the connection Shilpa shares with her audience and said that he knows the person behind her public image. “People know Shilpa Rao as the voice behind some of the most beautiful songs. But I know the woman behind that voice. I know how much her audience and her fans mean to her,” he added.
Ritesh calls out Bollywood Music Project
Ritesh strongly criticised Bollywood Music Project over the way the incident unfolded and said he would not forget what happened to his wife. “I’ll never forget” my wife being “treated with such disrespect” by Bollywood Music Project, he wrote.
He also accused the event’s PR team of trying to deny what audiences had witnessed at the concert. “BMP, your PR team is working overtime to convince Mumbai it did not see what it saw. Cute!” Ritesh wrote.
He further criticised the decision to cut short Shilpa’s interaction with the audience, describing it in strong terms. “And above all, denying a fellow artist just two minutes to say goodbye to her audience was selfish, petty, shameless, and utterly classless,” he added.
Shilpa Rao thanks Mumbai audience
Following the concert, Shilpa also addressed the incident on Instagram. The singer thanked the audience for continuing to support her even after the music had stopped and promised to return to Mumbai. “Mumbai, a piece of my heart broke tonight. It hurts deeply to have something so beautiful taken away from us like this. But even when the music stopped you didn’t. The way you kept calling my name, the love in your voices, I could feel it all. I promise I will come back to Mumbai,” she wrote.
Ritesh also thanked everyone who stood by Shilpa and said he remained proud of her. “I'm incredibly proud” of Shilpa, he wrote, before adding, “Mumbai, we will be back. Your love deserves a beautiful ending. And we owe you that.”
Shilpa responded to her husband’s post in the comments, writing, “I love you” with a red heart emoji. Actor Gauahar Khan also extended her support, commenting, “You and her are beyond this neglect. We love Shilpa. May god only keep her in blessings.”