Asif Ali-Ramesh Narayan controversy explained: What happened, and how the musician reacted

Popular musician Ramesh Narayan has been in the eye of the storm after he refused to accept a memento from noted Mollywood actor Asif Ali.

The incident happened during the launch of the trailer of the anthology series, Manoradhangal, scripted by literary doyen M.T. Vasudevan Nair.

During the programme, Asif Ali was invited by the anchor to present a memento to Ramesh Narayan. However, Ramesh Narayan refused to accept it from the actor and even refused to acknowledge him. He then invited director Jayaraj to present him with the memento. Ramesh Narayan accepted the memento from the director without even looking at Asif Ali or offering a reason to the actor.

Asif Ali did not lose his calm and continued smiling despite this gesture of insult.

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Ramesh Narayan had composed music for the movie Swargam Thurakunna Samayam—which is part of the anthology series Manoradhangal—directed by Jayaraj.

After the video of the incident went viral, Ramesh Narayan faced much backlash, with many accusing him of insulting Asif Ali. Many on social media have demanded an apology from the musician.

Support pours in for Asif Ali

Following the incident, Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) extended support to the actor. “The real music is the smile with which you faced the insolence,” AMMA wrote on its official Instagram handle, in a post in Malayalam, sharing the actor's photo.

General secretary of the association, actor Siddique, shared the post on his social media handle.

Ramesh Narayan clarifies

In the wake of the controversy, the musician attempted to explain his stance, saying he did not intend to insult the actor.

He claimed that he was delighted to accept the memento from Asif Ali but also wanted Jayaraj to be there to present it to him. He said this is the reason he called Jayaraj to present the memento and accepted it from him.

He said he was not called on to the stage although everyone else who had worked for the anthology series was invited to the stage and given mementos. He said M.T. Vasudevan Nair's daughter Aswathy made the arrangements to present the memento to him after she realized that he was not invited to the stage.

The anchor (actor Jewel Mary) was heard calling me as Santhosh Narayanan, he pointed out.