Blockbuster director duo were once ‘enemies’; their gangs worked tirelessly to defeat each other; the two then delivered longest-running Malayalam film

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“We first met each other during the local football matches,” Lal recalled during an appearance on Amrita TV’s Ormayil Ennum programme. He added, “We belonged to two groups and Siddique and I were the leaders of our respective gangs. We played football matches every week for money, and the winning team earned Rs 15–25. Nonetheless, Siddique’s team mostly won. So, we initially had only that acquaintanceship and enmity.”

Lal further mentioned that the feud once escalated to such a level that Siddique’s gang stole the script for a play Lal’s group was supposed to stage. In retaliation, the latter sabotaged one of the former’s events in a tit-for-tat manner. “Back then, on the last day of the festival at the local Saint Sebastian church, people staged cultural programmes, including plays and mimicry performances. Both our gangs used to stage plays every year, and we competed with each other in that as well. Since none of us ever learnt the script and dialogues by heart, it was important that someone stood near the stage and prompted the lines to the artistes. One year, the members of Siddique’s gang stole our script. As a result, we couldn’t perform well. Yet, we managed to complete the performance somehow. That created a sense of resentment in us against them.”

Siddique and Lal on the sets of In Harihar Nagar. (Credit: Instagram/@avmunniarchives)

Nonetheless, Lal’s gang did not have to wait long to get an opportunity to hit back. “No later, Siddique and friends, to raise money for something, organised a magic show in their school auditorium. The magician that they had hired, named Professor Kinnayi, wasn’t actually good at his job. His presentation, in particular, was poor. As the show progressed, he announced that he was going to get into a box, which would be chained properly and locked. ‘After 10 seconds, I will emerge from among the audience,’ he said. As soon as he got into the box, we locked the two doors that led outside. After he got out of the box, he went to the doors, assuming he could exit the stage through one of them, but we had already locked them. No matter how hard he tried to open or knock, we didn’t let him out. The organisers realised this quite late. By the time they approached us, it had been a while. Nonetheless, they talked us into letting Kinnayi go, and we eventually reached a compromise. However, the event was a big flop,” he mentioned, adding that, thus, they managed to even the score.

Following their debut as writers in Sathyan Anthikad’s Pappan Priyappetta Pappan, Siddique and Lal made their directorial debut with Ramji Rao Speaking. (Credit: Facebook/@ActorLal)

Lal continued, “At the height of the tension, Siddique and one of his friends came to see me one day and asked if we could give them the script — which they had previously stolen — for our play so they could perform it elsewhere. Without thinking twice, I gave them the script, as we had no personal enmity beyond a gang rivalry. They also asked me if I could reprise the role I played in our rendition of the play for their version. I agreed to that as well. The rehearsal camp was organised in a local gym. When I went to the rehearsal, my gang also came with me. And at that gym, during the rehearsals, we all became friends, effectively ending our gang war forever.”

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Subsequently, they began performing mimicry together and eventually found their way into cinema, joining legendary director Fazil as assistants. Following their debut as writers in Sathyan Anthikad’s Pappan Priyappetta Pappan (1986), the duo made their directorial debut with Ramji Rao Speaking (1989). In the subsequent years, they helmed In Harihar Nagar (1990), Godfather (1991), Vietnam Colony (1992), and Kabooliwala (1993). And all five of them emerged as massive blockbusters, and their Godfather remains the longest-running Malayalam film of all time. Afterwards, they parted ways to pursue individual careers but continued to collaborate in various capacities.