Fans await refund after Akon fiasco

For fans of Akon, it has been a double whammy of sorts. Not only have they to contend without his much-anticipated performance, now they have to run around to get their refund too. Though those who attended the concert were promised a refund by Saturday, many maintain they are clueless about how to get their money back.


No show, no money: Outraged fans demand their money at the hotel
where the Akon show got cancelled.u00a0 Pic/Jignesh Mistry

Sunny Satav, a student who had bought a couple of passes from the venue, said: "We haven't received any call from the police or those from whom we bought the passes. On Friday night, we went to the Mundhwa police and lodged a complaint. The officials had assured us that the money would be refunded by Saturday evening but we are still not sure. I had paid Rs 5,000 for the passes."

Ankit Pandey said that on Saturday they went to the place from where they had procured their passes but officials asked them to come back later. "I can't rest in peace till the money is returned. We were asked to come back later and I will go today."

Abhishek, another Akon fan, said: "I have already approached the outlet from where I had bought all the four passes on Saturday. They asked me to call the organisers and check with them. I spoke to the organiser who has assured us that they will return the money within two days."

Aryan Navale from Stratosphere Entertainment maintained that they have already started refunding the money. "I have already told those who called me to collect their refunds from the outlets from where they have bought the passes. There are a few individuals who have switched off their phones."u00a0

An official on condition of anonymity from the Mundhwa police station maintained that they have assured those who had come to the police that their money would be refunded. After the entire episode it's time for the blame game and no one is ready to take the responsibility for the chaos.

Navale said it was Netsurf Entertainment which was supposed to get the Foreign Artist Performance Licence for Akon. "They kept assuring me that they would get the licence. I had got all the required licence and paperwork in place. This was one of the biggest events of my career and I couldn't have screwed it up. But an official spokesperson from Netsurf maintains that they were handling the Gurgaon and Bangalore concert and had nothing to do with Pune.u00a0