Aerosmith fan Bhakti Patwardhan, 24, can’t believe her luck. Her favourite rock band is finally in India but she won’t be able to see them perform. All thanks to the change in venue, from Mumbai’s MMRDA grounds to Bangalore’s Palace Grounds. “I can’t afford to shell out Rs7,000-8,000 to fly down to see them. I’ve missed a chance of a lifetime. Why didn’t they come here?”
To start with, fans can blame Mumbai’s entertainment tax, which is the highest in the country. “For international artists, organisers have to pay a 25 per cent tax on ticket sales, which is much higher,” says Lena Paul, a consultant event manager. “Having a show in Mumbai increases your cost by at least 30 per cent. There is more bureaucratic red tapism, and venue and media acquisition are costlier,” says P Venkat Vardhan, managing director of Bangalore-based DNA Networks, one of the organisers.
Mumbai-based organisers believe that the multiple licenses and permissions required for an open air show is the biggest deterrent. “Bangalore has single-window clearance and Delhi a friendly cultural department, but Mumbai has a string of no-objection certificates (NOCs), compliance reports, and licences,” says Zarif Tapia, branch head of Wizcraft.
The Mumbai police, however, insists that the city has the best system in place for such events. “We only insist on fire and traffic NOCs. We are strict because we do not want any untoward incident,” says a senior official with the Mumbai police.
There’s another reason why Mumbai loses rock acts to Bangalore. “Bangalore crowd is more aware and inclined to attend a rock show, while the Mumbai crowd will show up for popular acts such Shakira and Michael Jackson,” says Tapia. PR executive Karishma Menon, who has gone to Bangalore, agrees, “The energy level is high, which is missing in Mumbai.”
The fact remains that Mumbai fans have lost out. As Patwardhan says, “I don’t want to miss a thing.”
Entertainment Tax:
Maharashtra: 25% of sales
Karnataka: : 10% of sales
New Delhi: 15% of sales
Goa: : 15% of sales
West Bengal: 20% of sales
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