The star-studded Manorathangal trailer launch event held in Kochi on Monday was truly a spectacular affair with several luminaries from the Malayalam film industry, including megastar Mammootty, in attendance. The ceremony coincided with the upcoming series Manorathangal’s writer MT Vasudevan Nair’s 91st birthday and a grand celebration was also organised on the occasion.
However, the event has now made headlines for an unfortunate reason after a video showing classical vocalist-composer Ramesh Narayan behaving impudently towards actor Asif Ali surfaced online. The video has since gone viral, with many netizens claiming that the composer “insulted” Asif in public.
According to the clip, the incident happened when Asif got up from his seat and approached Ramesh after it was announced that he would present a memento to the musician, who composed the music for the segment directed by Jayarajan Nair, professionally credited as Jayaraj, in the nine-part anthology series Manorathangal. However, when Asif reached near him with the memento, Ramesh almost snatched it from his hand without making eye contact and began waving to Jayaraj, urging him to come and present the memento. Although Asif stood nearby for a few moments, smiling and confused, Ramesh ignored him. Eventually, Jayaraj approached Ramesh, who handed the memento to him so that he could receive it from the director. Once Jayarajan gave him the memento, Ramesh’s demeanour quickly changed and the two smiled broadly and hugged.
Soon after the video went viral, netizens banded together, condemning the composer’s actions. “Ramesh Narayan refuses to take an award from #AsifAli. Very poor etiquette from him. Asif kept his happy demeanour despite the snub,” one user wrote while sharing the video on X (formerly Twitter). While one Twitterati dubbed it “very poor attitude,” another user noted, “Extremely unprofessional behaviour by Ramesh Narayan towards Asif Ali. The anchor mistakenly referred to Ramesh as Santosh Narayanan, and this seems to have triggered his ego.”
Ramesh Narayan refuses to take award from #AsifAli. Very poor etiquette from him. Asif kept his happy demeanour despite the snub.#Manorathangal #Mindscapes #Mammootty #Mohanlal #FahadhFaasil pic.twitter.com/JwPSn1F56X
— Mohammed Ihsan (@ihsan21792) July 15, 2024
After the incident sparked a controversy, Ramesh Narayan came forward claiming that he “did not insult Asif Ali,” and that the entire scenario was a result of some misunderstandings. “After the trailer launch, when everyone who worked on the anthology was invited to the stage and given mementos, I wasn’t called. I felt a little sad. Even Jayaraj didn’t invite me to the stage. Since I had to leave for Thiruvananthapuram soon, I went to Aswathi (MT’s daughter who served as the creative producer of the show) to say goodbye and expressed my sadness at not being invited. She apologised and quickly arranged for me to get the memento,” Ramesh told Malayalam news portal The Fourth.
“However, the name announced was ‘Santosh Narayanan.’ After that, Asif came and handed me the memento and left. Before it was clear whether Asif was giving me the memento or I was giving it to him, Asif had left without greeting. That’s when I called Jayaraj,” he explained, though the visuals suggest otherwise.
“It is true that I didn’t notice Asif, but I neither insulted nor discriminated against him. Jayaraj sent a message this morning apologising for the incidents that happened there. Isn’t this just a memento and not an award for which one would insist on a specific person presenting it to them? These are the facts and those launching cyberattacks are reacting without understanding the situation,” the composer added.
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