Rahat Fateh Ali Khan’s manager dies in car crash

A Chicago-area concert promoter said Bollywood star Rahat Fateh Ali Khan was not injured in the Saturday afternoon crash that killed his event manager, and still played his show yesterday evening following the highway tragedy.

“He was supposed to be in the car, but for some reason he got on the bus with the rest of the band,” said Bhavesh Patel, organizer for Rahat’s 8:30 p.m. show at the Odeum Center in Villa Park, Ill. on Saturday night.

The 1999 Lexus SUV that was carrying managers and promoters as part of the Bollywood troupe’s caravan from Detroit to Chicago flipped on 1-94 in Calhoun County near the Firekeepers Casino exit southeast of Battle Creek.

Police said Chtresh Shrivastav, Rahat’s international event manager from Mumbai, India, was thrown from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene. . Several other members of the tour were airlifted to Kalamazoo hospitals with injuries ranging from critical to minor.

The car was carrying managers and promoters, said Patel. The musicians were on the bus.

Rahat and the band played their show for the 4,000-some strong crowd at the Odeum Center last night and Patel said it was “very emotional.” Rahat’s tour is in Florida today, playing at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale-Davie.

Patel said Rahat, a Pakistani, has a huge following in the United States and internationally that has swelled considerably in the last couple years after winning several Bollywood music awards.

Chtresh was the brother of famous Indian music director Aadesh Shrivastav.