One of the most pressing complaints about today's Malayalam cinema is the lack of genuine humour in films. People often lament about the dearth of substantial comedy—something that would make them forget the miseries of their real lives, and yet was about real people. This, however, was not the case in the 80s and 90s when comedy-driven films ruled the roost. There were all kinds of comedy: situational, slapstick, parody, tragicomedy... and one of the key artists who shouldered this golden era of Malayalam cinema was writer-director Siddique. Along with his erstwhile partner Lal, Siddique brought to screen several meaningful and relevant tales of the ordinary. But what made their films relatable and more importantly, stand the test of time was how they packaged them with a good dose of humour. Take, for instance, their directorial debut, Ramji Rao Speaking (1989). The film is remembered even today for its iconic lines and the hilarious situations the three primary characters find themselves in. But a closer look would reveal how the film is essentially about unemployment, which was severe during that period. It's a pet topic the Siddique-Lal duo had addressed in another classic, Nadodikkattu (1987), which was written by them. After RRS, the duo went on to direct four more films—In Harihar Nagar (1990), Godfather (1991), Vietnam Colony (1992), Kabooliwala (1993)—and all of them were massive blockbusters. Perhaps what best defines the wide appeal of their films is how they were all remade in multiple languages. Truly pan-Indian.

Siddique continued his blockbuster journey even after turning an independent filmmaker. His first film as a solo director was Mammootty's Hitler (1996), which was the highest-grossing Malayalam film of the year, and three years later, he followed it up with Friends (1999), another colossal hit. Inspired by the massive success, Siddique decided to remake the film in Tamil, for which he got two of today's biggest superstars, Vijay and Suriya, together.

Siddique continued this pattern of remaking his Malayalam blockbusters in multiple languages till the fag end of his career. The director eventually struck gold with the tale of a youngster pursuing a strange ambition of becoming a bodyguard in Dileep's Bodyguard (2011), which got remade with Vijay in Tamil, and Salman Khan in Hindi, which went on to become one of the biggest Indian blockbusters.

However, it was not long before the law of averages started catching up as most of Siddique's films post-Bodyguard failed to please the majority. For the first time ever, his career graph witnessed a dip. But even during his worst phase, he was collaborating with the top-league stars from various languages, which tells a lot about the trust they had in the man.

A striking feature about Siddique was his smiling face. Even when the going got tough, it was hard to find Siddique without his beaming smile. He was a man who not only knew how to smile but also make others smile. His final few films might have failed to evoke the laughs we were accustomed to, but the classics he helmed in his heydays would certainly live on to spread smiles. Forever.