Viral video: Kerala music director apologises after 'insult' to actor Asif Ali sparks controversy

Kerala-based music director Ramesh Narayan has addressed the controversy surrounding a viral video in which he appeared to refuse an award from actor Asif Ali.

While speaking to Mathrubhumi News, Narayan clarified that the incident was a misunderstanding. "I sincerely apologise for what happened yesterday because I did accept the award from Asif Ali with a lot of love. It's just that I wanted the director of the film, Jayarajan, to be present there too and was searching for him, so I could not give my attention to Asif. By the time Jayarajan came, Asif had gone away."

Narayan asserted that the visuals were wrongly interpreted. He noted that he has been reaching out to Asif Ali to clear up the misunderstanding. "I am trying to reach out to Asif Ali, but he has not picked up my call yet," he said. At the moment, Asif Ali has not responded to this situation.

The controversy began when social media users claimed that Narayan ignored Asif Ali because he was upset about not being invited to the stage with the rest of the movie crew. Addressing this, Narayan said, "He felt a bit bad for not being invited to the stage for the trailer launch. While he bid goodbye to go to Thiruvananthapuram, he informed Ashwathi (crew member) about it. The next day, Jayaraj also apologised for it."

Narayan further clarified, "Also, because I was standing below and not on the stage, I did not see this. The memento handing over was a very small event. I came back to my seat and sat beside Biju Menon (actor). I did not get time to even hug or look at Asif. I was also confused if Asif was giving this to me or if I was supposed to give it."

The controversy sparked at the trailer launch of 'Manorathangal', an anthology movie based on literary stalwart M.T. Vasudevan Nair's nine stories. During the event, Asif was invited to present a memento to Narayan but it looked like he did not accept the award from Asif Ali and instead asked director Jayaraj to come over. He took the award from the actor's hand and handed it over to Jayaraj, asking him to present the award back to him.

Social media users claimed that Narayan did this to avoid interacting with Asif Ali after receiving the award. The incident, captured on video, quickly went viral on social media, and fans demanded Narayan's apology for his behaviour.