Kutle Khan has denied any role in Shilpa Rao's mic being cut at the Bollywood Music Project in Mumbai. The folk singer faced online heat after his performance began while Rao was still trying to speak to the crowd.
The awkward moment left Rao without sound during her appearance, and the stage lights also went dark. Khan later posted an Instagram video to explain his side, making it clear that he had no control over the technical setup.
According to Khan, every artist at BMP had a set slot, and he was merely doing what the crew told him. He had no clue why Rao lost her audio and felt the whole incident should never have occurred.
His schedule had its fair share of chaos as well. A planned 20-minute performance got cut to just one minute by the event team. Despite that change, Khan went along with the plan and ended up starting eight minutes late.
Things got more awkward when Rao called across from a separate stage. She wanted a chance to thank her fans, and Khan said he paused his music to let her finish. No argument, no drama from his side, at least by his account.
Then came the confusion with the audio crew. Khan could hear repeated cues through his earpiece telling him to begin. With the main speakers facing the crowd and the mixing desk positioned there as well, he relied on those instructions and resumed singing.
Another detail Khan wanted to clear up was his relationship with Rao. He regards her as a close friend, almost a sister, and has no personal dispute with her. The wave of online trolling, he felt, had gone far beyond what the incident called for.
As for who actually muted the microphone and lights, Khan pointed toward the festival staff or sound engineers as the people who might have answers. He did not claim to know who made the call.
His account leaves the technical failure unexplained, but it does lay out why he carried on with his performance. For Khan, the issue was a messy stage handoff rather than any deliberate attempt to interrupt Rao.
The awkward moment left Rao without sound during her appearance, and the stage lights also went dark. Khan later posted an Instagram video to explain his side, making it clear that he had no control over the technical setup.
According to Khan, every artist at BMP had a set slot, and he was merely doing what the crew told him. He had no clue why Rao lost her audio and felt the whole incident should never have occurred.
His schedule had its fair share of chaos as well. A planned 20-minute performance got cut to just one minute by the event team. Despite that change, Khan went along with the plan and ended up starting eight minutes late.
Things got more awkward when Rao called across from a separate stage. She wanted a chance to thank her fans, and Khan said he paused his music to let her finish. No argument, no drama from his side, at least by his account.
Then came the confusion with the audio crew. Khan could hear repeated cues through his earpiece telling him to begin. With the main speakers facing the crowd and the mixing desk positioned there as well, he relied on those instructions and resumed singing.
Another detail Khan wanted to clear up was his relationship with Rao. He regards her as a close friend, almost a sister, and has no personal dispute with her. The wave of online trolling, he felt, had gone far beyond what the incident called for.
As for who actually muted the microphone and lights, Khan pointed toward the festival staff or sound engineers as the people who might have answers. He did not claim to know who made the call.
His account leaves the technical failure unexplained, but it does lay out why he carried on with his performance. For Khan, the issue was a messy stage handoff rather than any deliberate attempt to interrupt Rao.
