Malayalam composer Ramesh Narayan faced massive criticism after he ‘refused’ to accept an award from actor Asif Ali at the ‘Manorathangal’ trailer event. He has now reacted to the controversy, saying that he never intended to humiliate Asif Ali. A video from the event has gone viral in which music director Ramesh Narayan is seen disrespecting and allegedly humiliating Asif Ali while receiving the award.

Ramesh Narayan clarified his stance saying that he did not intend to hurt anyone and apologised. He said, “I received the memento from Asif, but I wanted director Jayaraj to attend as he is the director of the film. When Jayaraj came to give the award, Asif did not show up. I wished him as well. I really like him as an actor.”

The incident took place during the trailer launch event of ‘Manorathangal’, an anthology based on nine stories written by legendary writer MT Vasudevan Nair.

Watch the video here:

In the video, Asif is seen walking towards Ramesh Narayan with a souvenir in his hand. Narayan took the souvenir without making eye contact with him and later called Jayaraj, one of the directors of the compilation, to give the souvenir to him. They then hugged and smiled. 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.

Ramesh Narayan composed the music for one film in the series directed by Jayaraj.

After the video went viral, the music director was heavily criticised for his behaviour, with the internet calling him ‘unprofessional’ and ‘arrogant’. Social media was flooded with posts praising Asif Ali and stating that he handled the situation with ease with a smile on his face.

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 is the real music to the pride that ignored you”.

Youth Congress state president Rahul Mamkootathil criticised the musician and expressed solidarity with Asif. “If you try to cancel an actor who has worked hard for the last one and a half decade and has no film background, despite many limitations, because of your sense of seniority, you will not succeed.” He also criticised those ‘who enjoyed the public humiliation of a person without any objection’.

Asif Ali has not yet given any statement on this incident.