Solidarity to Asif Ali: Dubai firm names luxury yacht after the actor

Dubai: As a token of love and solidarity for film actor Asif Ali, a luxury yacht was named after him in Dubai. D3, a water tourism company in Dubai Marina, has named the actor in the wake of the controversy surrounding music director Ramesh Narayanan, who has been associated with Asif Ali. The controversy had gathered reach over the length of Kerala.

The yacht in question was already in service at Dubai Marina, where many tourists arrive daily. Shafiq Muhammad Ali, Chief Executive Officer, D3, said that the motivation behind naming the yacht was love and respect for the way Asif Ali handled the controversy. He added that the name will also be changed in the registration license.

The recent Manorathangal trailer launch event turned controversial when classical vocalist-composer Ramesh Narayan allegedly insulted actor Asif Ali.

The incident has since drawn widespread condemnation from the public and industry insiders.

The event, which celebrated the upcoming series Manorathangal and coincided with writer MT Vasudevan Nair's 91st birthday, saw a host of celebrities in attendance, including MT himself, Malayalam megastar Mammootty, actor Siddique, and showrunner Priyadarshan.

During the ceremony, Asif Ali was tasked with presenting a memento to Ramesh Narayan, who composed the music for the segment directed by Jayarajan Nair (Jayaraj). However, when Asif approached with the memento, Ramesh took it without making eye contact and signalled Jayaraj to present it instead.

Asif stood by, smiling but visibly confused, as Ramesh ignored him completely. Jayaraj then took Ramesh's memento and presented it to him. This interaction was caught on video and quickly went viral, leading to accusations that Ramesh had insulted Asif.