Buddhist monks in Colombo on Saturday called off their agitation against a Shah Rukh Khan concert after organisers gave a written apology for holding the event on the death anniversary of a popular priest, Gangodawila Soma.

A handful of protesters camping outside the concert venue since Friday night dispersed after legislator Mon Athuraliye Rathana conveyed to them the apology of the organisers.

The monks were against any entertainment coinciding with the first death anniversary of Soma. They have reserved Saturday and Sunday for 'meritorious deeds and mourning'.

Police cordoned off the concert venue on Saturday to prevent any disruption. But the protesting monks did not appear to have public support.

But Khan sought to placate them. "Khan, who arrived in Colombo on Friday evening, apologised to the monks and said he would observe two minutes of silence in memory of the late priest," the Daily Mirror, one of the organisers of the show, said.

"They dispersed peacefully clearing the way for the concert," an official said. From the start, the protest was not seen as a serious attempt to block Khan's concert though some of the protesters had issued self-immolation threats, he said.