Singer and composer Kutle Khan's manager said singer Shilpa Rao interrupted Khan's shortened set to thank the audience. He blamed festival delays and alleged that social media had distorted the episode.Singer-composer Kutle Khan’s team rejects claims of disrupting Shilpa Rao’s performance Singer-composer Kutle Khan’s team has pushed back against the backlash over Shilpa Rao’s performance being cut short at the Bollywood Music Project in Mumbai, claiming it was Rao who interrupted Khan’s set to thank the audience.

The incident took place at the festival’s 10th-anniversary edition on October 24, with fans questioning Khan’s conduct after his performance began while Rao was still trying to wrap up hers.Sharad Sharma, Khan’s manager, has disputed the claims that the folk singer disrupted Rao’s closing remarks. Speaking to News18, he said Khan had already taken the stage for his own performance, which had itself been cut down, when Rao returned to address the crowd.

He also blamed delays at the festival on Himesh Reshammiya’s three-hour sound check, alleging that several artistes had to make do with shorter sets as a result.According to Sharma, artistes had initially been allotted 15 to 20 minutes each, but Khan was eventually given just 10 minutes. He said the team accepted the reduced slot, only for Rao to return after finishing her performance while Khan was already on stage."The festival team had allotted each artiste 15 to 20 minutes on stage, but they cut Khan saab’s performance time further.

He was given only 10 minutes. We were okay with it since they paid us.

Shilpa finished her performance and left the stage. Once Khan saab began his set, she interrupted his performance and said that she wanted to thank everyone,” Sharma told the publication.

After her performance was forcefully cut short at Bollywood Music Project, #ShilpaRao allowed to say bye to fans. But even her goodbye message is cut short while Kutle Khan probably was cued to keep singing.

One could see @shilparao11 feeling distraught and helpless. @bmp_live https://t.co/hMnL34k1lI— Fenil Seta (@fenil_seta) October 25, 2026 Sharma maintained that Khan stopped singing to let Rao speak and insisted that there was no bad blood between the two artistes. He also suggested that the criticism directed at Khan was being fuelled by a misleading account of what happened."Khan saab stopped for her, and she even told him that he was doing a great job.

We hold no grudges against her. Artistes are like one big family, and Shilpa is a good friend of ours," he said, adding that he did not know what Rao’s PR team had allegedly put out on social media.

The controversy unfolded when Rao’s performance came to an abrupt end after she was reportedly denied extra time. Her microphone was switched off as she waited to address the audience and conclude her set.

Khan then began performing on an adjacent stage, with the two artistes’ moments on stage overlapping.The scene didn’t go down well with concertgoers, several of whom criticised Khan on social media and called his conduct unprofessional. His team, however, has a different version of events.Sharma further claimed that festival organiser Deepak Chaudhary approached Khan during the episode and urged him to sing Dil Pe Zakham Khate Hain.

According to the manager, Chaudhary repeatedly asked Khan to begin his performance, even as the situation around the two singers unfolded.He argued that Rao should have thanked the audience before leaving the stage the first time, rather than returning while Khan was halfway through his set. Sharma also alleged that attempts were being made to portray Khan as the artiste responsible for the disruption.The manager traced the scheduling issues back to the festival’s arrangements this year.

He claimed the organisers had secured permission to hold the event for only one day, meaning all the artistes had to be accommodated on the same day. Reshammiya’s lengthy sound check allegedly pushed the schedule back, leaving less time for other performances.Khan’s team has, therefore, denied that he deliberately cut into Rao’s closing remarks, arguing that both singers were affected by the shortened slots and delays.- Ends