Even as FWICE is expected to meet Mika to discuss ban, singer remains part of line-up for Salman's gig; event manager pins blame on US-based promoter
Upala KBR (MID-DAY; August 20, 2019)

Over the past few days, Mika Singh has been in the eye of a storm — the singer has been banned by the Federation of Western India Cine Employees association (FWICE), after he performed at a wedding reception in Pakistan. He is expected to meet members of the FWICE today to offer his version of the event before the body gives its final verdict. Interestingly, despite the ban imposed on him since last week, Singh has been included as part of Salman Khan's upcoming event.

A six-city gig across the US — titled Up, Close and Personal With Salman Khan — has been scheduled for next week where the superstar will be interacting and indulging in photo opportunities with fans. The gig has been organised by Sohail Khan's event management team with Jordy Patel of JA Events in India and Bhavesh Patel in the US. Singh appears to be part of the Houston leg that is scheduled for August 28.

When mid-day reached out to Jordy to question about Singh's involvement in the show, he said, "We are only dealing with Bhavesh Patel as our contract is with him. Some local promoter in the US must have signed on Mika and added him to the line-up. Salman will have nothing to do with Mika at the event. They will not even interact on stage."

Not too long ago, Singh had shared a video claiming that he was coming to Houston with "my big brother Salman Khan" for the event. Jordy says, "Mika must be using Salman's name to promote himself, which everyone in the industry does."

If the promotional material is any indication, the events will also see Khan's close friends, including Sunil Grover and Kamaal Khan, in action.

Meanwhile, Ashok Dubey, general secretary, FWICE, says that the ban on Singh will continue if he cannot assuage the body's reservations in today's meeting. "If we impose a ban, it means all our technicians — including actors, directors, and even spot boys — will not work with Mika. If someone works with Mika during this ban, say Salman or anyone else, then he too will be banned."

Ask him if the ban applies to gigs that are held overseas, and Dubey says, "Whether it's an organiser from the US or any other country, we cannot stop anybody from conducting an event. Our policy is simple — we will not work with the person who has been banned."

mid-day reached out to Singh to ask about the August 28 event, but the singer refused to comment.

Attendees of Salman's Vancouver show cry foul, claim USD 5,000 tickets double-sold; organisers hint local promoter may have "over-committed"
Upala KBR (MID-DAY; July 7, 2018)

Considering Salman Khan's Da-Bangg: The Tour Reloaded was touted as one of the grandest Bollywood shows across the US and Canada, it wasn't surprising that tickets for the Vancouver leg sold like hot cakes. But many of the superstar's fans returned home disgruntled; from the tickets being double-sold to many audience members being shown the door — it has been learnt that the July 1 gig was mismanaged.

While the tour — that also features Katrina Kaif and Sonakshi Sinha, among others — has been managed by Sohail Khan Official Entertainment and JA Events, the Vancouver leg was organised by Gold Spade Entertainment. Bhavesh Patel of Sahil Promotions is the international promoter in the US and Canada. Patron Perminder Chohan said he had bought two seats in the VVIP section, only to find another couple occupying his place. "When we asked the couple to vacate our seats, the security guards pushed me out of the auditorium. My friend Rahul Gill, who had another seat in the section, questioned the security's actions. Next thing you know, they kicked him out too. The organisers were present there, but they didn't defend us."

Chohan's friend Rahul Gill alleges that the VVIP passes were double sold. "Many people couldn't find their seats as the tickets were sold twice over. A couple had occupied my seats too, but they were polite enough to move when I showed them my tickets. You don't expect such mismanagement when you have bought tickets worth $5,000 each." He adds that several attendess, who faced a similar situation, put up their grievances on the organiser's site. "A lot of people started complaining on Gold Spade's site. Instead of addressing the concerns, they pulled the site down yesterday."

Another audience member, Avtar S Virdi, claimed that apart from shelling out $10,000 for two VVIP passes, he spent another $2,000 for the meet-and-greet event. However, he was told at the last minute that the post-gig event was cancelled. Virdi added that he is still awaiting the refund.

When mid-day reached out to Jordy Patel of JA Events, he claimed that Khan and other stars had honoured the meet-and-greet commitment. "Although they were supposed to meet 50 fans, the stars obliged many others with pictures. But, sometimes the local promoter overcommits to get more footfalls. It may have happened this time too. However, we honoured our commitment." Bhavesh Patel from Sahil Promotions remained unavailable for comment, but his father Babulal Patel said, "The meet-and-greet happened, and I have photos to prove that. Gold Spade Entertainment mismanaged the event. But, if people were asked to leave, there must be another reason." Despite repeated attempts, Gold Spade Entertainment remained unavailable for comment.


(From left): Guru Randhawa, Daisy Shah, Sonakshi Sinha, Jacqueline Fernandez, Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif and Maniesh Paul at the San Jose edition of Da-Bangg Tour