Nagarbaul James has broken his silence over the controversy surrounding his recent Rome concert, dismissing allegations over a hotel room as insignificant and rejecting wider claims of fraud linked to the event. His spokesperson, Rubaiyat Thakur Robin, has called the allegations false and said the team is ready to face legal action if it breached any contractual terms.
James addressed the controversy at a press conference in Venice on Thursday. He and his entourage stayed at an apartment at a Best Western hotel in Rome ahead of his 16 August concert. After their departure, photographs of a hotel room and screenshots of conversations between the hotel and an organiser’s representative spread on social media.
The hotel reportedly alleged that the room had been left dirty and untidy and that the occupants had left without informing hotel authorities.
James said the complaint concerned room 549, where a young guest guitarist from his team had stayed.
“The complaint is related to room 549. One of our guest guitarists was staying there. He is a young man. Usually, the hotel is responsible for cleaning. Perhaps he did not clean it. But this is not such a big issue. Things like this happen in hotels,” James said.
He also brushed aside reports of a €200 fine.
“Many people leave rooms untidy. If the hotel authorities really fined €200, is that such a big fine? Sometimes people smoke in rooms and pay €100 or €200 in fines. Different countries have different rules. This is not a major issue,” he said.
The allegations have triggered heated discussion on social media. James, however, said he had no intention of stopping people from talking about the issue.
“There is no need to make such a big issue out of it. Let them do it. There is nothing to stop them. They have phones and can write two or four things. Let them write. They have the freedom to express themselves,” he said.
Earlier, Robin told that James was not even staying in room 549. He said the group had four rooms, with James in room 345, Robin in room 246 and another musician in room 549.
“Therefore, it is not right to hold James responsible for the condition of someone else’s room. He is Bangladesh’s biggest star. Nobody wants such false allegations made against him,” Robin said.
Robin also denied that the group left the hotel without following its rules or informing reception.
“With so many people and instruments, can we simply run away? These are false allegations. There may be an internal dispute among the organisers behind this misinformation. We left in front of everyone and came to Venice,” he said.
The controversy has also widened beyond the hotel room. Italian organiser Hossain Ahmed accused the team of fraud and misappropriation of money linked to the concert. He alleged that complications had emerged over advance payments and ticket-sale accounts. He also claimed Robin refused to provide an account of the money and that police were called to the venue.
Robin rejected the allegations and pointed to the contract governing the concert.
“If we have failed to comply with anything in the contract, they can take legal action against us. We have not left Italy; we are in Venice. If we had breached the contract, the police would certainly have taken action against us. By doing all this, they are also damaging Bangladesh’s image abroad,” he said.
