KOCHI: A controversy has erupted after renowned music director Ramesh Narayan allegedly snubbed actor Asif Ali at the trailer launch function of the anthology series titled ‘Manorathangal’ based on M T Vasudevan Nair’s nine stories. The issue has snowballed with the music director drawing severe criticism on social media.
In the video clip of the event that is doing the rounds on social media platforms, the anchor of the event, held in Kochi on Monday evening, can be seen inviting Asif Ali to present a memento to Ramesh Narayan. However, when Asif Ali approaches Ramesh Narayan with the memento, the latter ignores the former, takes the memento from him and then proceeds to call filmmaker Jayaraj. He then hands Jayaraj the memento before receiving it back from the filmmaker.
Ramesh Narayan then posed for photos with Jayaraj. In the anthology series, Jayaraj is among the nine directors, who made films based on nine short stories by M T Vasudevan Nair. Ramesh Narayan is the music director of Jayaraj’s ‘Swargam Thurakkunna Samayam’, one of the films in the anthology, which stars Nedumudi Venu and Indrans.
Meanwhile, as the controversy snowballed, Ramesh Narayan came out with a statement saying that he had not insulted Asif Ali. “If the public thinks that I have, I am ready to apologise. I didn’t know that Asif Ali was the one going to present the memento to me. I hadn’t heard the announcement. I was not in the right frame of mind since I was feeling sad that though every other director associated with the film was invited to the dais, I was not. I felt excluded,” said the music director. “I didn’t know that Asif Ali had approached me to present me with the memento,” he added.
He said statues or mementoes don’t matter to him. “I was not standing on the dais. Hence, I could not see the person approaching me. I didn’t have the intention to insult or degrade anyone. Asif Ali is one of the actors who is very dear to me. I will be calling Asif and if I find that a wrong has happened on my part I will apologise,” he added. However, I feel saddened by the cyber attack unleashed on me without understanding the facts, said Ramesh Narayan.
AMMA in support of Asif Ali
Kochi: The Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) has come out in support of Asif Ali in the controversy that erupted after Ramesh Narayan ignored him at the event. The Instagram post of the association posted on Tuesday says, “The smile you gave to arrogant behaviour is the real music. Amma is with Asif.”