Lal (actor)

Some Lesser Known Facts About Lal (actor)

• Lal is an Indian actor, director, producer, screenwriter, and distributor known for his work in Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu films. He is popular for playing the role of Tirukoilur Malaiyaman in the films ‘Ponniyin Selvan: I’ (2022) and ‘Ponniyin Selvan: II’ (2023).

• He started his career as a mimicry artist along with his Siddique at Cochin Kalabhavan, a centre for learning performing arts in Kochi, India.

  

• Later, Lal and Siddique formed a filmmaking duo named ‘Siddique-Lal.’ They were predominantly known for making comedy films. Some of the most notable films made by Siddique-Lal include ‘Ramji Rao Speaking’ (1989), ‘In Harihar Nagar’ (1990), and ‘Godfather’ (1991).

• Initially, the duo decided not to make the films casting superstars like Mohanlal and Mammootty. However, in 1992, they changed their decision by casting the superstar Mohanlal in their fourth film ‘Vietnam.’ The duo cast the actor Innocent and Jagathy Sreekumar in their fifth film ‘Kabooliwala’ (1994).

• In 1993, the duo ‘Siddique-Lal’ split after which Siddique continued working as a director and Lal debuted as an actor with the Malayalam film ‘Manathe Kottaram’ (1994) in which he made a cameo appearance.

• Lal played his first major role in the Malayalam film ‘Kaliyattam’ (1997), which is based on the drama ‘Othello’ written by William Shakespeare. He played the role of Paniyan in the film which stands for the role of Iago, the main antagonist in the drama.

• After making his debut as a producer with the Malayalam film ‘Hitler’ (1996), he has also worked as a producer and distributor for many films including ‘Thenkasipattanam’ (2000), ‘Kalyanaraman’ (2002), ‘Black’ (2004), and ‘Panthaya Kozhi’ (2007).

  

• In 2000, he wrote the story for the Bollywood film ‘Hera Pheri’ which later went on to become a blockbuster. The film was the remake of the Malayalam film ‘Ramji Rao Speaking,’ directed by Siddique-Lal.

• After the split of ‘Siddique-Lal,’ Lal made his comeback as a director in 2009 with the Malayalam film ‘2 Harihar Nagar.’ He has worked as a director for many Malayalam films among which some of the most notable include ‘In Ghost House Inn’ (2010), ‘Tournament’ (2010), ‘Cobra’ (2012), ‘King Liar’ (2016), and ‘HoneyBee 2.5’ (2017).

• In 2012, he appeared in the Malayalam film ‘Ozhimuri’ in which he played the double role as Thanu Pillai, and his father, Sivan Pillai.

• He has acted in various Malayalam films such as ‘Mazha’ (2000), ‘Kalyanaraman’ (2002), ‘The Don’ (2006), ‘Unnam’ (2012), ‘Fukri’ (2017), ‘Mahaveeryar’ (2022), and ‘2018’ (2023).

  

• After making his debut in the Tamil film industry with ‘Engal Anna’ (2004), he played the villain named Kasi in the film ‘Sandakozhi’ in 2005.

• His performance as Tirukoilur Malaiyaman in the Tamil film ‘Ponniyin Selvan: I’ (2022) and its sequel ‘Ponniyin Selvan: II’ (2023) received immense accolades from the audience.

• Some of the most notable Tamil films done by Lal include ‘Aalwar’ (2007), ‘Kutti Puli’ (2013), ‘God Father’ (2020), and ‘The Warriorr’ (2022).

• Apart from acting in Malayalam and Tamil films, he has also acted in a few Telugu films including ‘Khatarnak’ (2006), ‘Annavaram’ (2006), ‘Saaho’ (2019), and ‘Veera Simha Reddy’ (2023).

  

• The duo of Siddique and Lal reunited in 2016, after two decades, to write the screenplay of the Malayalam film ‘King Liar.’ Lal also worked as a director and actor in the film.

• In 2022, Lal expressed his regret in an interview for doing a rummy advertisement during the pandemic of COVID-19. In the interview, he revealed that during that time he was facing some financial issues due to which he had to work in the advertisement; moreover, he apologised for working in the advertisement and said,
  

  It’s just that I acted in an advertisement for a product. They approached me with the permission of the government. Many actors have done such ads before me. I committed to this ad because I had some financial issues during the Covid time. If that ad has caused harm to anyone, I am really sorry for that. Please don’t think I am saying this because I feel like I did something wrong.” ^[1]Onmanorama