A day after he was allegedly embarrassed by the music composer Ramesh Narayan during the ‘Manorathangal’ trailer launch, actor Asif Ali asked his supporters not to be part of a hate campaign against the veteran composer. The actor has been garnering plenty of support online after the video of the event went viral.
Addressing a press conference, Asif said he was touched by the love and support from Malayali audiences across the globe. He clarified that he was not hurt by the music composer’s actions or words. He spoke to the media after the promotion activity of his upcoming film ‘Level Cross’ at St Albert’s College in Kochi.
“It was only a misunderstanding. The music composer was flustered as the organisers made a mistake by calling him with the wrong name and he reacted accordingly. As you can see, I moved to the side soon after I completed my task of presenting the award to him,” Asif said.
He said he decided to respond as the incident had snowballed into a controversy. “I am overwhelmed by the love and support I received, not because I have any qualms regarding the incident, but because it made me realise that there are a lot of Malayalis out there who are willing to support me,” he said.
Support pours in for Asif Ali as Ramesh Narayan faces flak for insulting actor
He added that it was not fair to indulge in any hate campaign against the music composer. “I spoke to him this morning. He had been trying to reach me since yesterday. However, I had switched my phone off since I was unsure of how to respond to the media persons who had also tried to contact me for my response. It broke my heart to hear his troubled voice. He was on the verge of tears as he sought forgiveness from me. Please don’t turn this support for me into a hate campaign against him as I can understand the pain he is in,” Asif said.
Asif said he was willing to give the musician a memento if he got another opportunity. “I would gladly do so,” said the actor.
