Michael Jackson’s aircraft will crack Mumbai airport’s runway’: Why King of Pop wasn’t allowed to land in 1996 till Raj Thackeray intervened, came with 360 crew, 40 containers

Michael Jackson demanded an open car to wave to fans after landing in India in 1996. Andre Timmins, co-organizer, recalled how they had to borrow it from the only man who had it in Mumbai -- Anil Ambani.

Michael Jackson in Mumbai in 1996.

Michael Jackson, one of the greatest musicians and performers in history, performed only once in India, back in 1996. While he was fascinated by the country and its culture, it was still a gargantuan task to pull off both his visit and concert in Mumbai. Andre Timmins, co-founder of the organizing company Wizcraft, vividly recalled all the hoops they had to go through in order to make that historic concert possible.

“I remember we were dealing with Michael Jackson’s security and production equipment. We were trying to educate the police force because it was a Michael Jackson concert! The cops said they had to create thousands of barricades like it’s in the case of a politician. But I told them you can’t do that because it has to be open. There was a big issue,” recalled Andre. So, Andre had to convince Shiv Sena leader Raj Thackeray to get then-Home Minister Gopinath Munde to watch the footage of an old Michael Jackson concert in order to gauge the magnitude, the crowd, and the security requirements better.

Michael’s team had informed Andre that he’d travel via his own private jet. He came with 40 containers and 360 crew members in two Antonov planes (heavy-lift cargo aircraft). “An Antonov had never landed in India. So, suddenly, we get a message that the ATC (Air Traffic Control) of the Mumbai airport isn’t allowing it to land. They were worried that if an Antonov would land, their runway would crack. Since they were circling, I had to ask Raj. Then ultimately, it landed. It was like a museum. There were some 5,000 people watching the plane at the tarmac,” said Andre.

He also revealed that Wizcraft was also dealing with 11 court cases around Michael’s arrival. “It was crazy! Somebody’s filing us for merchandising rights. Somebody’s saying his passport would be impounded. Somebody’s saying he’s carrying a million dollars. It was unbelievable the amount of pressure we had,” recalled Andre. The Thackeray family was at the airport to welcome Michael Jackson. But only Andre and a couple of other officials, including the customs officer, entered the aircraft to receive him. He had to request the others to not ask for autographs. They were so mesmerized that they even forgot about the immigration process.

Jackson had demanded a car with an open roof so he could stand up and wave at the fans on his way from the airport. “Nobody had that car except Anil Ambani. So, we had to borrow that car from him. We had this entourage of 30-40 cars, more than there are for a head of state,” said Andre, adding, “Suddenly, as he exited the airport, he stopped his car because he saw all the hutments there. So, he got out of the car. His staff took out a bag of soft toys. He went straight into the hutments, sat in one of them, and started talking for 10 minutes! Can you imagine? The security was screaming, ‘Where has he gone? How can he breach the route?'”

Shiv Sena Supremo Bal Thackeray asked that Michael Jackson visit his place first. “There he was wearing dark sunglasses. And Balasaheb was also wearing sunglasses. There was also Bappi Lahiri and a young Aditya Thackeray. Michael was there for a good 45 minutes. Then of course, that’s when Michael decided to use the washroom, and it made headlines,” recalled Andre.

He’d already talked to Bal Thackeray and Shiv Sena, then the ruling party in Maharashtra, before locking the deal with Michel Jackson. Andre recalled visiting a private airport hanger to meet Michael, who was rehearsing for a show there. “When we met Michael’s lawyers, they said he’d just do a show in India and then leave. But we said that’s not how it happens in India. We also wanted him to do a press conference and meet the Shiv Sena. But they refused and threatened to ca

ll it off,” said Andre.