This is how the plan to bring one of the world's greatest stand-up comedians, Jerry Seinfeld, to perform in Mumbai this weekend unravelled in less than 48 hours
Jerry Seinfeld
A city desperately in need for some humour lost an opportunity to get its ribs tickled by one of the best in the business when Jerry Seinfeld’s shows, meant to be held at the NSCI stadium in Worli over the weekend, were cancelled yesterday.
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Also read: Jerry Seinfeld shows in Mumbai cancelled
Jerry Seinfeld
And, even as the police and the organisers traded punches over what led to the Emmy and Golden Globe-winning stand-up comedian’s Indian debut being cancelled, those close to the developments told mid-day that Seinfeld would have performed today in Mumbai if only the police had given their nod for the show a few hours before they actually did, or if the organizers had managed to convince Seinfeld to travel to India at the last minute.
Illustrations/Amit Bandre
What went unsaid officially, but found a lot of play on social media (see box), however, were theories regarding how the decision was a result of the police being extra cautious in the wake of two previous controversies at the venue - people being heckled while the CM was attending a charity event earlier this month, and the AIB roast.
Rakesh Maria
Other theories dealt with how the Seinfeld show organiser Only Much Louder (OML) had also organised the AIB Knockout and some even said that the show was cancelled because not enough tickets had been sold - a contention which OML has refuted.
Blow-by-blow
Traffic plans and parking arrangements, or the alleged lack thereof, were at the heart of what led to the shows being cancelled and things started unravelling on Wednesday, after the organisers, OML had a meeting with Police Commissioner Rakesh Maria.
While the organisers claimed they had made arrangements for additional parking at nearby venues like the Racecourse, Atria Mall and Nehru Centre, the police were apparently not satisfied with the arrangements, which they they were not informed about till Wednesday.
Maria was reportedly unhappy with the parking arrangements and asked the organisers not to go ahead with the show, after which they called Seinfeld and informed him about what was going on. Even after the meeting, organisers were trying their best throughout the day to convince Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and the police commissioner that they should be allowed to hold the show, but to no avail.
Green light
On Thursday morning, just as the organisers were about to announce the cancellation of the event, they got a call from sources that police officials were changing their mind and, by 3 pm, they got the green signal for the show. But it was too late by then.
They waited till the night (for it to be morning in the US) and, at approximately 9 pm, the organisers called Seinfeld’s office to inform them that the show was on in Mumbai. But, by then, Seinfeld’s office claimed he could not change his plans again and come to the city.
Vijay Nair, CEO, OML, said, “We were about to announce the cancellation on March 12 but got a call from the authorities that we might receive the permission to go ahead. But by then cancellations were made and re-booking the artiste, booking the flights and getting visas for everyone involved was impossible.”
Nair added, “We had sold out most of the tickets for both dates (Saturday and Sunday), and had the parking plan in place by booking spaces at a mall close to the venue, 400 spots at RWITC and 150 spots at Nehru Centre, in addition to the spots available at the venue. With the number of people expected for the shows, we did not need more than 700 to 900 parking spots.
We haven’t been given any letter for the refusal to grant permissions yet. This will create a major problem for other companies looking to get international artistes to the city or for those looking to organise any major performance.”
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