Whoever would have thought that a trailer for an anthology to celebrate one of India's greatest writers would cause a controversy that has nothing to do with the writer? Well, during the trailer launch of Manorathangal, a nine-episode anthology based on author MT Vasudevan Nair's stories, on July 15, a major controversy was sparked when music composer Ramesh Narayan was seen rudely snubbing actor Asif Ali, who was giving a memento to him before Nayaran took it later from director Jayaraj. Did Ramesh Narayan Rudely Snub Asif Ali at ‘Manorathangal’ Trailer Launch? Video of Music Composer Refusing To Accept Award From Actor Goes Viral – WATCH!

Netizens were outraged by the composer's allegedly arrogant attitude towards Asif Ali, who they praised for behaving composedly at that moment despite being mistreated. Now, Ramesh Narayan has held a press conference where he talked about the incident. He claims that he didn't deliberately push away Asif Ali's hand. The composer claimed that he didn't know Asif Ali was going to present him with an award as he expected Jayaraj to give him that. The composer reiterates that if anyone was offended by how he behaved with the actor, he apologises for his actions.

Ramesh Narayan also called Asif Ali one of his dearest people and said he would call him soon to talk about what had happened.

Watch Ramesh Narayan's Press Con on Asif Ali Incident:

 

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Also, in an interview given to the Malayalam news portal, The Fourth, Narayan gave the reason why he was irked about the whole award thing. He had said, "After the trailer launch, when everyone who worked on the anthology was invited to the stage and given mementoes, I wasn’t called. I felt a little sad. Even Jayaraj didn’t invite me to the stage." Ramesh Narayan Faces Severe Backlash After He Refuses To Take Award From Asif Ali at ‘Manorathangal’ Trailer Launch Event; Netizens Call It ‘Disrespectful’.

After he pointed this out to Ashwathy V Nair, Manorathangal's creative director and also MT's daughter, they arranged for an award to be hurriedly given to him without calling him on stage. However, the anchor mistakenly called him 'Santosh Narayanan' instead of 'Ramesh Narayan', which further irked him. He also claimed that Asif Ali left without greeting him (can you blame the actor after watching the video?). He said, "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 (me). That’s when I called Jayaraj. (sic)"

Watch the Video of the Incident:

About Manorathangal

Ramesh Narayan had composed the music for director Jayaraj's segment in Manorathangal. The film features an ensemble cast featuring Mammootty, Mohanlal, Fahadh Faasil, Asif Ali, Biju Menon, Parvathy, Nadiya Moidu, Ann Augustine, Indrans, Late Nedumudi Venu, Late Mammukoya, among others. The directors include Priyadarshan, Santosh Sivan, Mahesh Narayanan, Ashwathy V Nair, Shayamaprasad, Rathish Ambat, and Ranjith.

Watch the Trailer of Manorathangal:

Kamal Haasan is serving as the narrator. The anthology series will be streamed on Zee5 on August 15. It was earlier slated to drop on Netflix before the deal fell through, and Zee5 came in to its rescue.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 16, 2024 05:16 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).