KOCHI: The untimely demise of acclaimed director and scriptwriter Siddique is indeed a huge loss for the Malayalam film industry. His contributions to cinema, especially the many family drama-comedy films he helmed in the late 80s and 90s alongside actor-director Lal, still remain cherished today.
His memorable hits include In Harihar Nagar, Ramji Rao Speaking, Godfather, and Vietnam Colony, among others. In fact, some of the dialogues he and Lal had penned for these films have found a place in the daily Malayali lingo. Who can forget the phrases like ‘Kerivada makkale’, ‘Anjaneya… ee bhakthanu control tharu’, ‘Anjoorananoda ninte kali’, ‘Neeyokke enthina padikane’, and ‘Thali aane panineeru’ from the 1991-hit Godfather.
In Harihar Nagar, released in 1990, too, is littered with several such well-crafted dialogues -- ‘Kakka thoorinna thonnane’, ‘Thomaskutty vittoda’, ‘Sahikkan pattanilla’, ‘Onnum pateelalo alle’.According to writer and film enthusiast Sukesh R Pillai, it is the synchronised situations with real life that made the scenes very relatable. In Harihar Nagar is his favourite film.
“The dialogues of Siddique-Lal are always relatable to our real lives. One dialogue in the film, ‘Yogasanam cheyyathe thanne avante gas poyi’, delivered by Mahadevan, is my favourite. It was popular among youth and teenagers then. The dialogues of the director-screenwriter duo, who were also young then, are well connected with the emotions and behaviours of every Malayali. This makes them evergreen. Ramji Rao Speaking and In Harihar Nagar are cult classics and remain the favourites of the masses,” Sukesh says.
The other memorable humour lines include ‘Aashante kaal thalliodiche’, ‘kambali puthappu’,... from Ramji Rao Speaking; ‘Ithinappuram chadi kadannavananee’, delivered by K K Joseph from Vietnam Colony; ‘Kshamikkanam rajave’ from Friends; and ‘kaineettam vaikeet ayal kuzhappam undo’, from Kaboolivala.