Renowned Malayalam director and screenwriter Siddique Ismail has passed away at 63. He was known for making movies like Friends (2001), Engal Anna (2004), Sadhu Miranda (2008), Kaalavan (2011), and Bhaskar Oru Rascal (2018). His final directorial venture was the 2020 action thriller film Big Brother, which starred Mohanlal, Arbaaz Khan, Anoop Menon, and Honey Rose.
Starting their directorial journey as the ‘Siddique-Lal’ duo, they marked their debut with the timeless comedy Ramji Rao Speaking (1989), which was funded by Fazil. This kickstarted a series of remarkable successes in Malayalam cinema history, including iconic films like In Harihar Nagar (1990), Godfather (1991), Vietnam Colony (1992), Kabooliwala (1993), and Hitler (1996).
Siddique Ismail was born to Ismail Haji and Zainaba in Kochi on 1 August 1960. He attended the St. Paul’s College, Kalamassery. Siddique married Sajitha on 6 May 1984. The couple had three daughters; Sumaya, Sara, and Sukoon. Siddique began his career as an assistant director to Fazil. The duo of Siddique and Lal was spotted by Fazil when he saw them performing in the Cochin Kalabhavan troupe. Siddique later teamed up with Lal to create many films and was credited as Siddique-Lal. The duo has since split up, Siddique has continued with his directorial ventures, while Lal has turned to acting and producing. Siddique’s films are all in the comedy genre. His films in Tamil mainly were remakes of his Malayalam films.
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