Siddique Ismail (25 March 1955 – 8 August 2023) was an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter and actor who predominantly worked in

Malayalam cinema Malayalam cinema, also referred to as Mollywood, is a segment of Cinema of India, Indian cinema dedicated to producing films in the Malayalam, Malayalam language, primarily spoken in Kerala and the Lakshadweep islands. It encompasses both th ...

. He made his directorial debut with the Malayalam film '' Ramji Rao Speaking'' (1989). His screenwriting debut came with the Malayalam film '' Pappan Priyappetta Pappan'' (1986). His final film was '' Big Brother'' (2020).

Career

Siddique began his career as an

assistant director The role of an assistant director (AD) on a film includes tracking daily progress against the filming production schedule, arranging logistics, preparing daily call sheets, checking cast and crew, and maintaining order on the set. They also have ...

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 later split up; Siddique continued with his directorial ventures, while Lal turned to acting and producing. All of Siddique's films are comedies, and his films in

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

were mainly remakes of his

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

films, such as ''

Bodyguard A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects an very important person, important person or group of people, such as high-ranking public offic ...

'' (Malayalam) and '' Kaavalan'' (Tamil). ''

'' was later remade in

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

. Siddique co-produced films with Jenso Jose under their joint company S Talkies.

Personal life

Siddique was born to Ismail Haji and Zainaba in

Kochi Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...

in either 1954 or 1955, and attended St. Paul's College in

Kalamassery Kalamassery () is a major industrial region in the city of Kochi in the state of Kerala, India. It is located around northeast of the city centre. Kalamassery is a major hub for industrial and Information Technology, IT activities in Kochi. In ...

. On 6 May 1984, Siddique married Sajitha, with whom he had three daughters.

Death

Siddique suffered from

liver cirrhosis Cirrhosis, also known as liver cirrhosis or hepatic cirrhosis, chronic liver failure or chronic hepatic failure and end-stage liver disease, is a chronic condition of the liver in which the normal functioning tissue, or parenchyma, is replaced ...

during his final days, and was admitted on 10 July 2023 at Amrita Hospital in

for

liver transplant Liver transplantation or hepatic transplantation is the replacement of a Liver disease, diseased liver with the healthy liver from another person (allograft). Liver transplantation is a treatment option for Cirrhosis, end-stage liver disease and ...

. But the transplant could not be held due to multiple health issues like

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

. His condition took turn for the worse when he had a

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest (also known as sudden cardiac arrest CA is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. When the heart stops beating, blood cannot properly Circulatory system, circulate around the body and the blood flow to the ...

on 7 August 2023. He died at 9 PM the next day. His dead body was kept for public view at his home and Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium, and was later buried at Ernakulam Central Juma Masjid with full state honours. He is survived by his wife, three daughters and many grandchildren.

Awards

Kerala State Film Awards * Best Film with Popular Appeal and Aesthetic Value (1991)

Zee Cine Awards The Zee Cine Award (ZCA) is an annual Indian awards ceremony for the Hindi film industry. They were instituted in November 1997 to award "Excellence in cinema – the democratic way". They were first held in Mumbai until 2004, when the ZCA w ...

* Zee Cine Awards for Best Debut Director (2012)''

Filmography

Films

As actor

*'' Nokkethadhoorathu Kannum Nattu'' (1984)...Man at calling Kunjoonjamma nickname church going time *'' Poovinu Puthiya Poonthennal'' (1986)...Man at priest's place *'' Varsham 16'' (1989)...Karthik's friend *'' Manathe Kottaram'' (1995) ... himself (guest at the wedding) *'' Five Star Hospital'' (1997) ... Himself in two songs "Ithra Madhurikkumo" and "Maranno Nee" *'' Gulumaal: The Escape'' (2009) ... Himself *'' Cinema Company'' (2012) ... himself *''

Masterpiece A masterpiece, , or ; ; ) is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, skill, profundity, or workmanship. Historically, ...

'' (2017) ... himself *''

Innale Vare ''Innale Vare'' () is an Indian Malayalam-language thriller film, which is directed by Jis Joy and produced by Mathew George. The film stars Antony Varghese, Nimisha Sajayan and Asif Ali in lead roles. The film was directly released on SonyL ...

'' (2022) ... himself *''Kenkemam'' (2022) ... Special appearance

As producer

*2017: '' Fukri'' *2020: '' Big Brother''

Television

*''Indumukhi Chandramathi'' (Surya TV) as Himself *''Mammootty the Best Actor Award'' (Asianet) as Judge *''Comedy Festival'' (

Mazhavil Manorama Mazhavil Manorama is an Indian Malayalam language general entertainment Free-to-air television channel owned by Malayala Manorama. The channel’s headquarters is at Aroor, Alappuzha in Kerala, India. History The channel has been on air sin ...

) as Judge *''Cinema Chirima'' (Mazhavil Manorama) as Host *''Comedy Festival Season 2'' (Mazhavil manorama) as Judge *''Aaraanee Malayalee'' ( Manorama News) as anchor *''Comedy Stars Season 2'' (Asianet) as Judge *'' Top Singer Super night'' as Judge

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Siddique 1960 births 2023 deaths Indian male screenwriters Indian Muslims Malayalam film directors Hindi-language film directors Film directors from Kochi Malayali people Screenwriters from Kochi Film producers from Kochi Malayalam film producers 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Indian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Indian male writers 21st-century Indian male writers