Malayalam director Siddique who is known in the Tamil film industry for giving films like Friends (2001), Engal Anna (2004), Sadhu Miranda (2008), Kaavalan (2011) and Bhaskar Oru Rascal (2018) has died of cardiac arrest. Siddique who was in his early 60s, suffered a heart attack at a private hospital in Kochi. A group of members from Malayalam film fraternity led by director B Unnikrishnan revealed that director Siddique breathed his last at 09:15 PM today i.e. August 8, 2023. 

Siddique had been admitted at the hospital since July 10, 2023 for treatment of pneumonia and other ailments. The Mollywood filmmaker was last reported to be in critical condition in the ICU, and the hospital had updated that Siddique had been surviving with the support of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation i.e. ECMO). Siddique is survived by his wife Seena and three grown children.  

Best known for his comedic streak, Siddique's Tamil movies Friends (2001) memorialized Vadivelu's 'Contractor Nesamani' character in Tamil pop culture. The movie also was a runaway hit in actor Vijay's career. The Vijay-Vadivelu combo once again shined in the movie Kaavalan in 2011, with their comedy portions becoming quite the hit with Tamil cine audience. Vadivelu's comedy portions in Engal Anna (2004) is also often referenced in Tamil memes and pop-culture. 

"Everything that you see me saying or doing in the film (Friends), it was all Siddique. He is a great director. Even the name Nesamani was coined by him.. All praises should go to Siddique sir and the people. There is no Vadivelu without them” - Actor Vadivelu in 2019 about director Siddique post the 'Pray For Nesamani' trend

 

Seveal film personalities like Mollywood's Dulquer Salman and Bollywood's Atul Agnihotri have been mourning the demise of Siddique online.