'Show this egregious act in your family, not on public stage'

KOCHI: Actress and singer Manjuvani Bhagyaratnam joined the bandwagon of other cinema stars to extend support to actor Asif Ali after he was snubbed by musician Ramesh Narayan at an award function.

Manjuvani Bhagyaratnam:

“What is the wrong in Ramesh Narayan preferring Jayaraj over Asif Ali to hand him over the award. There is nothing wrong but he should restrict such egregious conduct to his home and not flaunt it on a public stage. It was truly disgusting of Ramesh to engage in class-based bias and belittling Asif Ali at the stage. It is not Asif who got shamed, it was Ramesh himself. “

On Monday, veteran musician Ramesh Narayan denied an award from actor Asif Ali at an event in Kochi, making the situation awkward for the actor, who expressed no resentment but handled the situation with his relaxed demeanor.

Ramesh Narayan even failed to make eye contact with Asif and waited for director Jayaraj to hand over the award to him. Sensing the bitter turn of events, the applause from the crowd also died down. Actor Indrajith, seated next to the musician had to witness the whole incident.

Social media erupted in protest over the disrespect hurled at Asif Ali by the musician. Many empathized the way Asif walked back after getting admonished by Ramesh Narayan. Some also praised the actor for not throwing a fit despite facing an insult in all public glare.