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Lal
Lal in 2015
Born	M. P. Michael (1958-12-02) 2 December 1958 (age 66) Kochi, Kerala, India
Occupations	Actor director screenwriter producer distributor
Years active	1984–present
Spouse	Nancy Lal ​(m. 1987)​
Children	2 (including Lal Jr.)

M. P. Michael (born 2 December 1958), better known by his stage name Lal, is an Indian actor, director, screenwriter, producer and distributor who predominantly works in Malayalam and Tamil films and in a few Telugu films. Lal has won several awards, including a National Film Award – Special Mention for acting (2012), two Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor (2008, 2013), and a Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Malayalam (2008). He is the owner of Lal Media Arts, a post-production studio.

Early life

Lal was born as Michael to the late M. A. Paul and late Philomina, as their eldest son. He received his schooling at St. Augustine's High School, Ernakulam. His brother Alex Paul is a music composer in the Malayalam film industry and his son Jean is a movie director in the same industry. Lal's younger sister Neena's son Balu Varghese is an actor in the Malayalam film industry.

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 began their film career working as assistant directors to Fazil in Nokkethadhoorathu Kannum Nattu.

Siddique-Lal production had never been dependent on star value or superstar formula that was witnessed in those days in Malayalam cinema. They had always opted out from casting Mohanlal or Mammootty. Ultimately, both of them had changed their thoughts later and when their fourth production film was to get launched, Siddique-Lal had opted for Mohanlal and made Vietnam Colony (1992) which did wonders in the box office too. The duo again had combined in their fifth production and made Kabooliwala (1994), which was also a success.

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 Suresh Gopi-starrer Kaliyattam, directed by Jayaraj. Kaliyattam was a new take on Othello, where Lal played Paniyan, the character standing for Iago. He runs a film post-production company named as Lal Media Arts, Kochi. The year 2009 saw his comeback again as a director. He directed the sequel to In Harihar Nagar named 2 Harihar Nagar, which got released and was declared a hit. For his performance in the 2012 film Ozhimuri, he won the National Film Award – Special Mention. He was won of Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor in Thalappavu (2008), Ayaal (2013) and Zachariayude Garbhinikal (2013). He later directed films like King Liar (2016), Honey Bee 2.5 (2017) and Tsunami (2021).

Lal, who also plays an important role in Sulthan (2021) and also heaped praise on Mari Selvaraj for Karnan (2021). Despite being given the most uni-dimensional character in the story Taanakkaran (2022), the actor effortlessly carries the role and leaves arguably more impact than in his previous outing. He roped in to play the role of a warrior in Mani Ratnam’s Ponniyin Selvan: I (2022) and Ponniyin Selvan: II (2023).

He starred in the Malayalam web series Kerala Crime Files (2023) as Inspector which was released on Disney + Hotstar.

Personal life

Lal is married to Nancy and they have two children— a son Jean Paul Lal and a daughter Monica Lal. Jean Paul is a film director.

Awards

Filmography

As an actor

Malayalam

Tamil

Telugu

Other Languages

Web Series

Director, writer

Producer, distributor

Other crew credits

• 1987: Manivathoorile Aayiram Sivarathrikal – Script supervisor and assistant director (as Siddique–Lal)

References

1. "Cochin Kalabhavan". www.cochinkalabhavan.com. Archived from the original on 12 October 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
2. "Kunchacko's Udaya Studio being razed". Malayala Manorama. 4 May 2019. Archived from the original on 24 July 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
3. ^ "Mathrubhumi English – Acting is easy, direction most satisfying: Filmmaker Lal". Archived from the original on 28 June 2013.
4. "A Great year for Malayalam cinema, say National award winners". mathrubhumi.com. 25 March 2013. Archived from the original on 27 March 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
5. "Review: King Liar tests your patience".
6. "Review: HONEY BEE 2.5 MOVIE REVIEW". The Times of India.
7. "Review: Tsunami Movie Review : A joke that gets serious". The Times of India.
8. "Lal: I was depressed on the first-day shoot of 'Ponniyin Selvan'!". Sify. Archived from the original on 4 March 2021.
9. "Taanakkaran Movie Review: A powerful film about a lesser-known problem". Cinema Express. 8 April 2022. Archived from the original on 23 May 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
10. "Mollywood actor Lal in Mani Ratnam's 'Ponniyin Selvan'". The Times of India. 4 December 2019.
11. "Kerala Crime Files Review: This well-written and engaging Malayalam thriller is a compelling watch". 23 June 2023.
12. Sudhish, Navamy (31 July 2012). "Director Revathy S Varma, on 'Mad Dad'". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
13. "Lal, Anagha Narayanan headline Dear Vaappi". Cinema Express. 3 August 2022. Archived from the original on 28 March 2023. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
14. "Jude Anthony Joseph Unveils Title of his Upcoming Film Based on 2018 Kerala Floods". News18. 5 November 2022. Archived from the original on 12 December 2022. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
15. "Tovino's Nadikar Thilakam shoot completed". Cinema Express. 6 January 2024. Archived from the original on 8 January 2024. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
16. Features, C. E. (5 January 2024). "RJ Balaji's Singapore Saloon gets a release date". Cinema Express. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
17. Features, C. E. (9 June 2024). "Video of 'Oru Naalil' song from Kavin's Star out". Cinema Express. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
18. "Aju Varghese and Lal look intense in Kerala Crime Files first look poster". The Indian Express. 21 April 2023. Archived from the original on 21 May 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2023.

External links

• Lal at IMDb
• Lal Actor/ Director SNP Database

• Malayalam film directors
• Male actors from Kochi
• 1958 births
• Living people
• Kerala State Film Award winners
• Malayalam screenwriters
• Male actors in Malayalam cinema
• Indian male film actors
• Filmfare Awards South winners
• Indian male screenwriters
• Film directors from Kochi
• 20th-century Indian male actors
• 21st-century Indian male actors
• Male actors in Telugu cinema
• Film producers from Kochi
• Screenwriters from Kochi
• 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights
• 21st-century Indian dramatists and playwrights
• Malayalam film producers
• 20th-century Indian male writers
• 21st-century Indian male writers
• Kerala Film Critics Awards winners
• Special Mention (feature film) National Film Award winners