Lal (actor)

Lal
Born	Paul Michael (1958-12-02) December 2, 1958 Kochi, Kerala, India
Occupation(s)	Screenwriter, actor, director, producer, distributor
Years active	1984 - present
Spouse	Nancy
Children	Jean, Monica
Parent(s)	M. A. Paul, Philomina

Paul Michael (born December 2, 1958), better known by his stage name Lal, is an Indian film director, script writer, actor, producer, and film distributor.

He is most famous for teaming up with Siddique under the shared name Siddique-Lal to make films such as Ramji Rao Speaking (1989), In Harihar Nagar (1990), Godfather (1991), Vietnam Colony (1992), and Kabooliwala (1994). The duo broke off afterwards but he produced Siddique's Hitler (1996) and Friends (1999). Other films he has produced include Thenkasipattanam (2000), Kalyanaraman (2002), Chathikkatha Chanthu (2004), and Thommanum Makkalum (2005).

Lal's debut as an actor came in 1997 when he played Paniyan in Jayaraj's Kaliyattam. He won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor for playing Raveendran Pillai in Madhupal's film Thalappavu (2008).

After sixteen years, Lal did come back as a director by directing the sequels to In Harihar Nagar, 2 Harihar Nagar (2009) and In Ghost House Inn (2010).

Career

Early career

He started his career as a mimicry artist in Kalabhavan, along with his childhood friend Siddique, who would later team up as Siddique-Lal to make many films. Lal and Siddique joined as assistant directors to Fazil in 1984.

As director

The Siddique-Lal team became directors with Ramji Rao Speaking. They went on to make four more hit films in a row: In Harihar Nagar, Godfather, Vietnam Colony and Kabooliwala. Lal and Siddique were also associate directors for Fazil's Manichithrathazhu (1993). They are two of the most successful directors in the history of Malayalam cinema. All their movies were record-breaking blockbusters.

As actor

After that, both decided to part ways as a director pair and Lal turned producer with the Siddique-directed Mammootty-starrer Hitler. Lal debuted in acting with a villain role as Paniyan in Kaliyattam, directed by Jayaraj. Kaliyattam was a new take on Othello where Lal played Paniyan, the character standing for Iago.

Lal started acting in Tamil films with N. Linguswamy's Sandakozhi. Lal's other major roles include Sikkander Singh in Punjabi House, Jeevan in Ormacheppu, Devin Karlos Padaveedan in Black (2004 film), Sathyan in Thommanum Makkalum, the title role in Banglavil Outha, Raveendran Pillai in Madhupal's Thalappavu, and Johny in A. K. Lohithadas's Kanmadam.

As producer

Lal became a producer and distributor in the Malayalam film industry in the mid-1990s and established a film production and distribution company named Lal Creations. The first film he produced was Hitler, which was directed by Siddique and starred Mammootty. He then produced Thenkasipattanam by the Rafi-Mecartin duo, in which he played a major role with Suresh Gopi. He also produced Rafi-Mecartin's Superman and Chathikkatha Chanthu. Other films he has produced include Siddique's Friends, Lal Jose's Chanthupottu and Renjith's Black.

Return to direction

Lal returned to directing with the 2009 film 2 Harihar Nagar, a sequel to In Harihar Nagar. After its success, he directed another sequel named In Ghost House Inn. It was released on March 25, 2010. It also became a box office success.

Music director Alex Paul, who composed soundtracks for the sequels of In Harihar Nagar, is his younger brother.

Awards

• Shortlisted for the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment - Godfather (1991)
• Kerala State Film Award - Best Popular Film - Godfather (1991)
• Kerala State Film Award - Best Actor - Thalapavu (2008)
• Filmfare Awards South - Best Actor - Thalapavu (2008)

Filmography

Actor

Year	Film	Role	Language
1997	Kaliyattam	Paniyan/Iago	Malayalam
1998	Punjabi House	Sikkandar Singh	Malayalam
	Daya	Kombanana	Malayalam
	Kanmadam	Johny	Malayalam
1999	Friends	Man at the Park	Malayalam
	Chandranudikkunna Dikhil	Parthan	Malayalam
2000	Mazha	Chandran	Malayalam
	Arayannagalude Veedu	Sukumaran	Malayalam
	Nakshathragal Parayathirunnathu	Gowrishankar	Malayalam
	Thenkasipattanam	Dasappan	Malayalam
2001	Ee Nadu Ennalevare		Malayalam
	One Man Show	Hari Narayanan	Malayalam
	Randam Bhavam	Mohammad Ibrahim	Malayalam
	Unnathangalil		Malayalam
2002	Ente Hridayathinte Udama	Pavitran	Malayalam
	Kannaki	Manikyan	Malayalam
	Kalyanaraman	Thekkedathu Achuthankutty	Malayalam
	Krishna Gopalakrishna	Swamiji	Malayalam
2003	Pulival Kalyanam	Karunan	Malayalam
	Anyar	Raghavan	Malayalam
	Sinkari Bolona		Malayalam
	Uthara		Malayalam
2004	Ee Snehatheerathu	Gounder	Malayalam
	Chathikkatha Chanthu	Film director Ravikumar	Malayalam
	Black	Devin Carlos Padaveedan	Malayalam
	Engal Anna	Rajapandi	Tamil
2005	Chanthupottu	Divakaran	Malayalam
	Thommanum Makkalum	Sathyan	Malayalam
	Banglavil Outha	Outha	Malayalam
	Sandakozhi	Kasi	Tamil
2006	The Don	Kasim Baba	Malayalam
	Pothan Vava		Malayalam
	Oruvan		Malayalam
	Annavaram	Ganga	Telugu
	Khatarnak		Telugu
2007	Rock N Roll	Kasim Baba	Malayalam
	Before the Rains	Rajat	English
	Time	Dr. Srinivasa Iyengar	Malayalam
	Marudhamalai	Maasi	Tamil
	Deepawali		Tamil
	Rameswaram		Tamil
	Aalwar	Puniyamoorthy	Tamil
	Oram Po	Bigilu	Tamil
2008	Thalappavu	S. Raveendran Pillai	Malayalam
	Twenty:20	Radhakrishnan	Malayalam
	Pachamarathanalil		Malayalam
2009	Anthony Yaar?	Michael	Tamil
	Azhagar Malai	Rathnavelu	Tamil
	Pachamarathanalil		Malayalam
	Thirunakkara Perumal		Malayalam
2010	Anwar		Malayalam
	Porkkalam		Tamil
	Aagathan	Major George Joseph	Malayalam
	April Fool	Dr. Mohana Chandran	Malayalam
	Penpattanam	Inspector Antony	Malayalam
	Best Actor	Vandippetta Shaji	Malayalam
	Kandahar		Malayalam
2011	Payyans	John Varghese	Malayalam
	Salt N' Pepper	Kalathipparampil Kalidasan	Malayalam
	Doctor Love	Cameo	Malayalam
	Vellaripravinte Changathi	As Himself	Malayalam
2012	Father's Day		Malayalam
	Unnam		Malayalam
	Cobra: Kottayam Brothers		Malayalam
	Idukki Gold		Malayalam
	Maad Dad	Palachottil Geevargees Kuriyakose Easo	Malayalam
	Ozhimuri		Malayalam
	Shutter (2012 film)		Malayalam

Producer

• Tournament (2010)
• In Ghost House Inn (2010)
• 2 Harihar Nagar (2009)
• Panthaya Kozhi (2007)
• Pothan Vava (2006)
• Chanthupottu (2005)
• Thommanum Makkalum (2005)
• Black (2004)
• Chathikkatha Chanthu (2004)
• Pulival Kalyanam (2003)
• Kalyanaraman (2002)
• Thenkasippattanam (2000)
• Friends (1999)
• Superman (1997)
• Hitler (1996)

Distributed films are:

• Salt N' Pepper (2011)
• Violin (film) (2011)
• Elsamma Enna Aankutty (2010)
• Thalappavu (2008)
• Cycle (film) (2008)
• Kaiyoppu (2007)
• Thommanum Makkalum (2005)
• Banglavil Outha (2004)
• Swapnakkoodu (2003)
• One Man Show (2002)

Writer

• Cobra: Kottayam Brothers (2012)
• Tournament (2010)
• In Ghost House Inn (2010)
• 2 Harihar Nagar (2009)
• Hera Pheri (2000) (story)
• 'Mannar Mathai Speaking (1995) (as Siddique Lal)
• Kabuliwala (1993) (as Siddique Lal)
• Vietnam Colony (1993) (as Siddique Lal)
• Makkal Maahathmiam (1992) (story) (as Siddique Lal)
• Godfather (1991) (as Siddique Lal)
• In Harihar Nagar (1990) (as Siddique Lal)
• Ramji Rao Speaking (1989) (as Siddique Lal)
• Manivathoorile Aayiram Sivarathrikal (1987) (Script supervisor and assistant, as Siddique Lal)
• Nadodikkattu (1987) (story idea)
• Pappan Priyappetta Pappan (1986) (as Siddique Lal)

Director

• Harihar Nagar 4 (2012)
• Cobra: Kottayam Brothers (2012)
• Tournament (2010)
• In Ghost House Inn (2010)
• 2 Harihar Nagar (2009)
• Kabooliwala (1994) (with Siddique as Siddique Lal)
• Vietnam Colony (1992) (with Siddique as Siddique Lal)
• Godfather (1991) (with Siddique as Siddique Lal)
• In Harihar Nagar (1990) (with Siddique as Siddique Lal)
• Ramji Rao Speaking (1989) (with Siddique as Siddique Lal)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director

• Manichithrathazhu (1993) (second unit director)
• Manivathoorile Aayiram Sivarathrikal (1987) (assistant director)

External links

• IMBD profile