Malayalam director Siddique, the man with a Midas touch, bids goodbye

The 63-year-old director was kept on an Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) machine. The director had been undergoing treatment for pneumonia and liver disease for some time.

His close associate, actor Lal, had come to see Siddique at the hospital on Tuesday evening. Many others in the film fraternity were also present at the hospital.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, in a Facebook Post, condoled the death of the director, saying that Siddique’s demise was a loss to the Malayali audience.

Actor Dulquer Salmaan also wrote in Facebook that Siddique was the kindest human and the gentlest soul.

Early life

Siddique was born in 1960 to Ismayil Rawther and Sainaba at Kaloor in Ernakulam. Apart from directing many hit films, he also worked as a screenwriter, actor, and producer.

Siddique studied at the Government High School in Kaloor completed his higher studies at St Paul’s College Kalamassery, and the Maharaja’s College, Ernakulam.

He entered the film industry as an assistant to veteran filmmaker Fazil in 1983. He worked with his close associate Lal for a long time.

Also read: Siddique suffers heart attack, condition critical

From mimicry to cinema

Siddique was part of Cochin Kalabhavan, a popular mimicry troupe before coming to films. He debuted in 1989 with Lal by directing their independent movie Ramji Rao Speaking.

Both of them were associate directors of director Fazil, who is the father of actor Fahadh Faasil.

But later both parted ways. Lal went on to become a popular actor and producer when Siddique remained a director and screenwriter.

During a conversation with this correspondent a decade ago on parting with Lal, Siddique said, “We parted ways after Kabooliwala (1993). But contrary to the rumours, we parted ways on mutual understanding and Lal remains a good friend of mine. In fact, he was the producer for my films Hitler and Friends, both of which were box-office successes.”

Siddique, Lal and Innocent in an old stage program. (Supplied)

Siddique and Lal were masters in making comedy films. Together, they directed Ramji Rao Speaking (1989), In Harihar Nagar (1990), Godfather (1991), Vietnam Colony (1992), and Kabooliwala (1993).

All of these films were super hits and have a cult following in Kerala.

The title card “Siddique-Lal” ensured a minimum guarantee for the theatre owners in Kerala.

The duo also wrote stories for flicks like Nadodikkattu (1997), Mannar Mathai Speaking (1998), and Bollywood film Hulchul (2004), to mention a few.

In 2014, Siddique-Lal, the duo announced that they will reunite after 20 years for the movie titled King Liar with Dileep and Madonna Sebastian in the lead role. The movie was released in April 2016.

Scripting process

Siddique did not follow any strict rules for his scripts. According to him, sometimes he wrote scripts keeping in mind an actor, and sometimes vice versa.

The script of Ramji Rao Speaking was written without a proper cast in mind. However, Anjooran, the lead role in Godfather, was crafted exclusively for the veteran stage actor NN Pillai.

Similarly, Krishna Moorthy of Vietnam Colony was made keeping the superstar Mohanlal in mind, Siddique said.

Poster of Bollywood film ‘Bodyguard’ starring Salman Khan in the lead, directed by Siddique.

After Chronic Bachelor (2003), the director took a rather long hiatus from Malayalam films before coming out with Bodyguard in 2010, which was a blockbuster.

Little did he think it’d be a runaway success when he made his debut in Hindi with a remake of Bodyguard in 2011.

The film, starring Salman Khan and Kareena Kapoor, broke many records, collecting a gross of ₹227 crore worldwide.

Siddique was known as the man with the Midas touch. He firmly believed that a good script was the backbone of a film.

After the success of Bodyguard, Siddique told this correspondent that while making the film he never thought it would be a mega hit.

“As it was the story of a bodyguard, my choice for the male lead was Salman Khan. I gave him the script while he was busy shooting for Dabangg, his home production, and he readily agreed to do the movie. The project got delayed as the Tamil version of Bodyguard was in the making,” Siddique said.

Speaking more about Bodyguard, he said Kerala did not have a culture of bodyguards.

“But in North India, bodyguards for bigwigs are common. Keeping this in mind, minor changes in the script were brought in. In Malayalam, Dileep, who portrayed the character of Jayakrishnan, was apt for the role with his natural acting skills and comic timing; for Hindi, Salman was the best choice as he had an action-hero image and a physique to support it.”

Kaavalan, the Tamil remake of Bodyguard, was a grand success. It was a comeback film for superstar Vijay after a series of flops.

‘Bollywood is professional’

Siddique was of the opinion that Bollywood is more professional. According to him, Hindi films have a wider audience and also Bollywood works in a very systematic way and everything is well organised.

Siddique had said that directing Salman was real fun. “He is a spontaneous actor and Kareena is very professional. She took pains to watch all the other versions of ‘Bodyguard’ before the shooting began,” he had said.

Also read: Kerala theatres to host early morning ‘Jailer’ shows for fans

In 2012, Siddique said that Malayalam films were not marketed in the proper way. According to him, Bollywood films were marketed in a systematic method and they are able to reap rich yields.

”But in our industry, marketing of a film begins at the time of its pooja and the hype dies down by the time it is ready for release,” Siddique said.

“Corporate production houses should invest in the Malayalam industry. Once a script is finalised, they can allot the production cost and the line producers can engage in the day-to-day working of the film. The individual film producers in the industry too can wear the coat of line producer if interested. Films should also be released in the maximum number of theatres. The profit from these theatres will definitely enrich our industry,” he said. 

“We have a serious movie-going crowd in Kerala. We should cater to them with what they deserve the best and bring them back to theatres and regain the glory of Malayalam cinema,” the director said.

Siddique was perhaps one filmmaker who could boast of a box office hit with most of his films.

But his last three films — Ladies and Gentleman (2012), Fukri (2013), and Big Brother (2020) — weren’t superhits.

Condolences pour in

Stars cutting across industries conveyed their condolences at Siddique’s demise.