Mood Indigo 2025, IIT Bombay’s flagship cultural festival, kicked off on December 16 with high expectations and quickly ran into controversy. Dubbed as Asia's largest college cultural fest and scheduled to run till December 18, the event promised music, fashion, art and youth-driven creativity. Instead, social media was flooded with complaints over crowd mismanagement, accommodation chaos and massive traffic snarls.
'Worst decision ever to come to moodi'25'
Instagram user Ambika Kasat sparked widespread outrage after posting a video calling her experience the "worst decision." In her viral post, she said, "Mismanagement at its peak... standing for 10 hours and still no accommodation! What's the point of paying Rs 4200 and not getting even basic facilities???" Her remarks resonated with several attendees who echoed similar grievances in comment sections.
Check out her post below:
While entry to Mood Indigo events is reportedly free, participants were required to pay separate registration and accommodation charges, something many attendees felt wasn’t justified given the conditions on the ground.
Traffic issues comes in
The chaos extended beyond campus. On Tuesday evening, traffic along the Jogeshwari–Vikhroli Link Road (JVLR) came to a near standstill as a spillover of festival-goers clogged the Powai and Sakinaka areas. The Chandivali Citizens Welfare Association (CCWA) posted visuals of the gridlock, stating, "Heavy congestion occurred along the JVLR due to a large influx of students attending the Mood Indigo festival at IIT Bombay."
Mumbai Traffic Police later confirmed that movement was slow due to the college event, adding that extra personnel were deployed and conditions began to normalise late at night.
Despite the backlash, Mood Indigo’s lineup remains ambitious, featuring fashion showcases like Trashion, live concerts by Sonu Nigam and Seedhe Maut, and interactive sessions with Bollywood actors. However, for many attendees, the excitement has been overshadowed by logistical failures.
