Malayalam composer Ramesh Narayan was criticised for refusing an award from actor Asif Ali at the trailer launch of ‘Manorathangal’. He has issued a clarification after receiving massive backlash.
Malayalam composer Ramesh Narayan faced massive backlash after ‘refusing’ an award from actor Asif Ali at the ‘Manorathangal’ trailer event. He has now responded to the controversy by stating that it was never his intention to snub Asif Ali. A video from the event has gone viral where music director Ramesh Narayan was seen disrespecting and allegedly snubbing Asif Ali while receiving an award.
In Short
- Composer Ramesh Narayan received flak for snubbing Asif Ali at ‘Manorathangal’ trailer event
- He issued a clarification stating that it was not his intention to insult him
- The trailer of ‘Manorathangal’ was launched on July 16
Asif walking towards Ramesh Narayan with a memento in his hand. Narayan received it without having proper eye contact with him and later called Jayaraj, one of the directors of the anthology, and asked him to give the memento to him. They exchanged hugs and smiles after. However, Asif Ali looked confused by Ramesh Narayan’s action and stood nearby with a smile on his face. Later, he went back to his seat.
The incident took place at the trailer launch event of an anthology based on nine stories written by legendary writer M T Vasudevan Nair titled ‘ Manorathangal’.
Explaining his stance, Ramesh Narayan said that it was not his intention to hurt anyone and extended his apologies. “I received the memento from Asif, but I wanted director Jayaraj also to join, since he is the director of the film. By the time Jayaraj came to hand over the award, Asif was not to be seen. I had wished him also. I really like him as an actor,” he added.
Ramesh Narayan composed music for one of the films in the series directed by Jayaraj.
AMMA (Association of Malayalam Movie Artists), the main film body for Malayalam actors, expressed solidarity with Asif by sharing a post on Instagram. It read “Your smile towards the pride that ignored you is the real music”.
the music director was harshly criticised for his behaviour, with the Internet calling him ‘unprofessional’ and ‘egoistic’. Social media was flooded with posts hailing Asif Ali for handling the situation smoothly with a smile on his face.
Youth Congress state president Rahul Mamkootathil criticised the musician and expressed solidarity with Asif. “You will not succeed if you try to cancel an actor who has been around for the past decade and a half through hard work despite many limitations and without a film background, with your seniority complex”. He also criticised people ‘who enjoyed a man being publicly insulted without even a single word of objection’.
Asif Ali is yet to share a statement on this incident.
