M. P. Michael (born 2 December 1958), better known by his

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

Lal, is an Indian actor, director, screenwriter, producer and distributor who predominantly works in

Malayalam cinema Malayalam cinema is an Indian film industry of Malayalam-language motion pictures. It is based in Kochi, Kerala, India. The films produced in Malayalam cinema are known for their cinematography and story-driven plots. In 1982, ''Elippathayam' ...

. He has also appeared in

Tamil films Tamil cinema, also known as Kollywood is a part of Indian Cinema; primarily engaged in production of motion pictures in the Tamil language. Based out of the Kodambakkam neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, it is popularly called ''Kollywo ...

and in a few

Telugu films Telugu cinema, also known as Tollywood, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Telugu language, widely spoken in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Telugu cinema is based in Film Nagar, Hy ...

. Lal has won several awards, including a National Film Award – Special Mention for acting (2012), two

Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor The Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor is an honour, begun in 1969, presented annually at the Kerala State Film Awards of India to an actor for best performance in a Malayalam film. Until 1997, the awards were managed directly by the Depart ...

(2008, 2013), and a

Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Malayalam The Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Malayalam is an award instituted in 1972, presently annually at the Filmfare Awards South to an actor via a jury. This given by the Filmfare magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards South for performers ...

(2008). He is the owner of Lal Media Arts, a

post-production Post-production is part of the process of filmmaking, video production, audio production, and photography. Post-production includes all stages of production occurring after principal photography or recording individual program segments. The ...

studio.

Early life

Lal was born as Michael to the late M. A. Paul and the late Philomina, as their eldest son. He received his schooling at St. Augustine's High School, Ernakulam. His brother

Alex Paul Alex Paul is an Indian music director who works in Malayalam cinema. Personal life Alex is the son of A. M. Paul, a music artist who formed the first orchestra (in Malayalam: 'ganamela') troupe in Kochi & Philomina. He is the younger brother ...

is a music composer in the

Malayalam film industry Malayalam cinema is an Indian film industry of Malayalam-language motion pictures. It is based in Kochi, Kerala, India. The films produced in Malayalam cinema are known for their cinematography and story-driven plots. In 1982, '' Elippathayam ...

and his son

Jean Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * Jea ...

is a movie director in the same industry.

Career

He started his career as a mimicry artist in

Kalabhavan Kalabhavan ( lit. "The House of Arts"), also known as Cochin Kalabhavan, is a centre for learning performing arts in Kochi, India. ''Kalabhavan'' is notable and known for being the first organized performing mimicry group in Kerala and which p ...

, 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 ''Nokkethadhoorathu Kannum Nattu'' () is a 1984 Indian Malayalam-language drama film written and directed by Fazil, and starring Mohanlal, Nadhiya, Padmini. The film features original songs composed by Jerry Amaldev and background score by Jo ...

''. 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 Mohanlal Viswanathan (born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor, film producer, playback singer, film distributor, and director who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically app ...

Mammootty Muhammad Kutty Panaparambil Ismail (; born 7 September 1951), known mononymously by the hypocorism Mammootty (), is an Indian actor and film producer who works predominantly in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam films. He has also appeared in Tamil l ...

. 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 ''Vietnam Colony'' is a 1992 Indian Malayalam-language comedy drama film written and directed by Siddique-Lal. It stars Mohanlal, Innocent, Kanaka, and K. P. A. C. Lalitha. The soundtrack of the film was composed by S. Balakrishnan. The fil ...

'' (1992) which did wonders in the box office too. The duo again had combined in their fifth production and made ''

Kabooliwala ''Kabooliwala'' is a 1994 Indian Malayalam-language coming of age comedy drama film, written and directed by Siddique-Lal, starring Innocent and Jagathy Sreekumar. The film was remade in Tamil as ''Meesai Madhavan'' (2004). Plot The story be ...

'' (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

-starrer ''

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

''. Lal debuted in acting with a villain role as Paniyan in

Suresh Gopi Suresh Gopi (born 26 June 1958) is an Indian actor, politician, playback singer and television presenter. He works predominantly in Malayalam cinema and has also appeared in some Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Bollywood films. Suresh made his acti ...

-starrer ''

Kaliyattam ''Kaliyattam'' ( en, The Play of God) is a 1997 Indian Malayalam-language tragedy film directed by Jayaraaj. It stars Suresh Gopi, Lal (in his acting debut), Manju Warrier, and Biju Menon. The film is an adaptation of William Shakespeare's play ...

'', directed by

Jayaraj Jayarajan Rajasekharan Nair, professionally credited as Jayaraj, is an Indian filmmaker, who predominantly works in Malayalam film industry. He has won many awards, including Crystal Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival, the Golden ...

. ''Kaliyattam'' was a new take on ''

Othello ''Othello'' (full title: ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'') is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, probably in 1603, set in the contemporary Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cypru ...

'', where Lal played Paniyan, the character standing for

Iago Iago () is a fictional character in Shakespeare's ''Othello'' (c. 1601–1604). Iago is the play's main antagonist, and Othello's standard-bearer. He is the husband of Emilia, who is in turn the attendant of Othello's wife Desdemona. Iago ha ...

. He runs a film post-production company named as Lal Media Arts,

Kochi Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...

. The year 2009 saw his comeback again as a director. He directed the sequel to ''

In Harihar Nagar ''In Harihar Nagar'' is a 1990 Indian Malayalam-language comedy thriller film written and directed by Siddique-Lal. The film, set in the fictional locality of Harihar Nagar follows four unemployed bachelors: Mahadevan (Mukesh), Govindan Kutty ...

'' named '' 2 Harihar Nagar'', which got released and was declared a hit. For his performance in the 2012 film ''

Ozhimuri ''Ozhimuri'' () is a 2012 Indian Malayalam-language period drama film, directed by Madhupal and written by Jeyamohan and starring Lal, Mallika, Asif Ali, Bhavana and Shweta Menon in lead roles. The original songs and background score were co ...

'', he won the National Film Award – Special Mention. He was the winner of two state film Awards for Best Actor in ''

Thalappavu ''Thalappavu'' (literal meaning: turban or headgear, which is a symbol of power, status and protection) is a 2008 Malayalam language period thriller film based on the events related to Naxal Varghese and Police Constable P. Ramachandran Nair, d ...

'' (2008), '' Ayaal'' (2013) and ''

Zachariayude Garbhinikal ''Zachariayude Garbhinikal'' ( is a Malayalam–language comedy-drama film written and directed by Aneesh Anwar. The film narrates the incidents in the life of a gynaecologist ''Dr.Zacharia'' and five women who come into his life. Lal appears a ...

'' (2013). Lal, who also plays an important role in

Karthi Karthik Sivakumar (born 25 May 1977), better known by his stage name Karthi, is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Tamil cinema. He has won three Filmfare Awards South, an Edison Award, a SIIMA Award and a Tamil Nadu State Film Aw ...

's '' Sulthan'' (2021) and also heaped praise on

Mari Selvaraj Mari Selvaraj is an Indian film director and author who works in the Tamil film industry. He worked as an Assistant Director for director Ram, He made his directorial debut with ''Pariyerum Perumal'', which opened to positive reviews and receiv ...

for '' Karnan'' (2021). Despite being given the most uni-dimensional character in the story ''

Taanakkaran ''Taanakkaran'' () is a 2022 Indian Tamil-language period drama film written and directed by Tamizh in his directorial debut and produced by Potential Studios. The film stars Vikram Prabhu in the lead role with Anjali Nair, Madhusudhan Rao, ...

'' (2022), the actor effortlessly carries the role and leaves arguably more impact than in his previous outing.

Personal life

Lal is married to Nancy and they have two children—

Jean Paul Lal Jean Paul Lal, better known by his stage name Lal Jr., is an Indian film director and actor who mainly works in the Malayalam film industry. He is the son of actor-director Lal. His directorial debut movie was ''Honey Bee'' starring Asif Ali wh ...

and a daughter. Jean Paul is a

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

Awards

Filmography

Actor

Director, writer

Producer, distributor

Other crew credits

*1987: '' Manivathoorile Aayiram Sivarathrikal'' – Script supervisor and assistant director (as

Siddique–Lal Siddique–Lal are a screenwriter and director duo, consisting of Siddique and Lal. They were active together in Malayalam cinema during 1986–1995. They were initially assistant directors to director Fazil. Particularly known for making fil ...

)

References

External links

*
Lal Actor/ Director SNP Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lal 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 film directors 21st-century Indian film directors 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 Special Mention (feature film) National Film Award winners