A concert held by AR Rahman at the Wembley Stadium in London last week has had a very unexpected turn of events on social media, with several audience members criticising Rahman for playing Tamil songs as a part of the set list. Some disgruntled concert-goers apparently even walked out of  the performance halfway. The fact that Rahman himself is Tamil seems to have been completely ignored, as does the fact that the concert was titled ‘Netru, Indru, Naalai.’ And even though the “Mozart of Madras” performed several Hindi numbers, members of the North Indian community were upset for having to sit through the Tamil songs.

Music Aloud has posted the actual set list from the concert. The list has total 28 songs, out of which 16 are in Hindi and remaining 12 are in Tamil

The set list from yesterday night #arr #wembley pic.twitter.com/PggTDqJJi6

— MusicAloud (@MusicAloud) July 9, 2017

Despite evidence of the list having more Hindi songs than Tamil, several fans felt cheated and took to Twitter to express their opinions, which were ignorant and mostly wrong, might I add.

https://twitter.com/eraserheadass/status/885150408703844353

This incident seems to be another step in the escalating North India-South Indian language divide.

A considerable portion of Indians seem to think that Hindi is our national language despite the fact that there is no decree that implies this. In a country that is known for its heterogeneity, where people speak over 800 languages, standing up against one of them seems a little hostile. Or does it? This hostility seems to exist only when it comes to languages that are spoken in the subcontinent. We can’t listen to Kaadhalikkum Pennin for five minutes but we do have Despacito on repeat.

All those boycotting Rahman, a Tamilian for singing Tamilian songs, just take a good look at your playlist. Do you listen to Diljit Dosanjh’s Punjabi songs? Or have you listened to Enrique in the past (P.S. He’s Spanish)? Or even Psy; remember Gangam Style?

Hypocritical Much?

https://twitter.com/TouqeerButt/status/883858078134874112

Hindis want concert ticket refund coz #ARRahman sang Tamil songs. NonHindi states be refunded for taxes that subsidize Hindi states pic.twitter.com/hgz3a9epaR

— Garga Chatterjee (@GargaC) July 13, 2017

The deed, although taken casually, conveys a sense of premonition. North Indians feeling chagrined about the usage of South Indian languages is an abiding issue in country. Citizens from both poles of the country locked horns for a while on Twitter following the concert.

All hindi bigots who want refund back from #ARRahman got their own medicine back.
We pay taxes but hear only Hindi in every aspect of life.

— Darshan K[DK]😘 (@Qsaxffo) July 14, 2017

People ranting about @arrahman singing Tamil songs clearly don't know that he's the 'Mozart of Madras' & not Moradabad. #ARRahman #ssearena

— Joint Ventur (@JointVentur) July 14, 2017

#ARRahman is a Tamil born musician, We watched Doordarshan for decades in Hindi. One Show with Tamil songs and Hindi Hoopla goes mad.

— ஃ 🔺 ழ (@KarikaalanArima) July 11, 2017

#ARRahman we hear modi speaking in Hindi always, what refund Hindians gonna give???

— Karikaalan (@ImTheKarikaalan) July 12, 2017

What happened to music having no language? Compartmentalising a musician who is preeminent to the entire music industry is not just a sign of hypocrisy but also reveals our intolerance and lack of acclimatisation.