There was total chaos at the Vadodara railway station on Monday night when superstar Shah Rukh Khan arrived there to promote his film Raees that released on Wednesday. Khan, who was reportedly taking a train ride in 24 years, reached the station on the August Kranti Rajdhani Express at 10.40 pm.
Reports said that “unprecedented scenes were witnessed at the station” as an estimated 15,000 people turned up to catch a glimpse of the star. So huge was the crowd that the organisers didn’t let SRK even step off the train and trashed their plan to hold a press meet. The star addressed his fans using a microphone from inside the train and left.
That’s when all hell broke loose.
His fans ran alongside the train, frantically beating the windows. A stampede broke out in which many were injured and started bleeding. Two GRP personnel fell unconscious and had to be rushed to a hospital. The police were forced to resort to dispersing the crowd with batons. The platform was left strewn with shoes and footwear left behind by fans who tried to flee the scene in panic.
But the worst part was this: A 43-year-old man, reportedly there to meet a relative travelling on the train, lost his life. Fareed Khan Pathan allegedly died of heart attack as he was suffocated in the crowd. He fell unconscious, and subsequently died in a hospital.
Pathan’s family has not blamed Shah Rukh Khan for the mishap, admitting that the deceased person had a heart ailment. But a death during a film promotion event is highly unfortunate, and was definitely avoidable. And this raises questions about the planning by the Indian Railways and the film’s publicity team unit that came up with the unusual promotional stunt.
So what went wrong in the entire episode? Here’s what we gathered from several news reports:
Railways failed in planning?
- In a shocking revelation, Vadodara railway superintendent of police Sharad Singhal has claimed that he was never officially told about SRK’s arrival. Singhal told the Times of India that he was informed only after the train left Surat station, which is about 1.5 hours away as per schedule. He said he immediately deployed 100 GRP personnel while the Railway Protection Force sent 50 of its men which, given what unfolded, was clearly not enough.
- A last-minute change in planning saw the train arrive at platform 6 instead of 2 or 3 because the former is bigger and has a closed end which regulates access. This added to the chaos and, again, makes one wonder just how the railways failed to anticipate the crowd so it could plan in time.
- Another last-minute decision to control the crowd was to stop the sale of platform tickets from 9 pm onwards. Eager fans, however, found a way around by buying tickets for short-distance trains. “If people buy tickets to Anand, Bharuch and enter the platform as passengers, we cannot stop them,” Singhal complained to Indian Express later.
The publicity crew threw caution to the winds?
- Did an excited film publicity unit prioritise publicity over safety? Even as the railways was struggling to control the number of fans arriving at the station, the film crew’s minute-by-minute update on social media caused huge crowds to gather. It was a concern raised by Western Railway spokesperson Ravindra Bhatkar.
- After SRK arrived, there were T-shirts bearing the actor’s autograph that were thrown at the fans. This caused the unruly crowd to become worse as they surged to catch them, officials said.
- There are also conflicting reports on whether the event had official sanction. While a Hindustan Times report quotes Western Railway spokesperson Ravindra Bhatkar as saying that the event was “in accordance with procedural norms” and that the railways had given necessary permission after the crew deposited the required Rs 1.8 lakh as special fee, Indian Express quotes the same official quite differently. The Indian Express report quoted Bhakar as saying that SRK, Sunny Leone and their team of 50-60 members were travelling just like any other passengers and not with any special booking. He told the newspaper that the railways had made arrangements despite this. If the Indian Express version is true, it raises serious questions on the film unit’s method.
So what next?
The railways has ordered an inquiry. But the initial facts that have emerged in the aftermath of the incident should jolt both the concerned parties into rethinking their strategies.
- Perhaps the railways should revisit its policy to allow such publicity events given the sheer amount of crowd they attract. While everyone is free to travel on a train, it can’t be denied that massively popular film stars need to have alternate arrangements.
- The railways, with its dubious track record of handling even regular crowds, might be better off not venturing into such publicity ventures. In India, people have died in stampedes at railway stations after a last-minute change of platforms. A horrific reminder is the 36 deaths due to a stampede at the Allahabad station in 2013 during the Kumbh.
- Filmmakers should consider sparing over-crowded public services for publicity gimmicks. It not only disrupts, but also inconveniences thousands who may be using the facilities for reasons other than seeing their favourite celebrities.
