Kochi, Aug 8: Noted Malayalam director and screenwriter Siddique died at a private hospital here, his family said on Tuesday.

Siddique (63), who was undergoing treatment at Amrita hospital here for over a month for various ailments, suffered a heart attack on Monday, hospital sources said on Tuesday.

His end came at 9.13 PM today, the sources said.

The filmmaker, who had helmed numerous superhit Malayalam movies, was in a critical condition and was on ECMO (Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation), which provides respiratory support when a person's lungs and heart are not performing adequately.

Siddique delivered several hit movies along with his friend Lal -- who is also an actor who played leading roles in various hit films himself such as 'Thenkasipattanam', 'Thommanum Makkalum', and 'Salt and Pepper' among others -- and the filmmaker duo was popularly known as 'Siddique-Lal'.

'Siddique-Lal' movies such as 'Ramji Rao Speaking', 'In Harihar Nagar', 'Godfather', 'Vietnam Colony' and 'Kabooliwala' were massive hits.

Siddique is also the director of blockbuster movies including 'Hitler', 'Friends', 'Chronic Bachelor', and 'Bodyguard', among others.

He directed the remake of his movie 'Bodyguard' starring Salman Khan in Hindi, which also became a superhit. In Tamil, it was titled 'Kavalan' starring Vijay and did well at the box office.

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New Delhi, Jan 26 (PTI): The Congress alleged Saturday its Rithala candidate Sushant Mishra was assaulted by a poll official, and demanded a thorough probe into the incident and action against him.

Party general secretary Jairam Ramesh claimed Sushant Mishra was assaulted by an Election Commission of India official on Saturday.

He alleged the official also attempted to prevent Mishra from undertaking a Padayatra for which the Delhi Police had already given permission.

In a post on X, Ramesh said, "@sushant_m has been actively taking up violations of the Model Code of Conduct by other candidates in the ongoing Delhi Vidhan Sabha elections. This unprecedented and illegal act of partisanship by an official of a Constitutional body like the ECI can only be seen as a desperate attempt by the AAP and BJP to stem the surge of support for his candidacy and that of the Congress Party in the Delhi Vidhan Sabha elections"

Ramesh said the Congress remains undaunted and will continue to raise the voice of people and protect the sanctity of elections.

"To preserve the integrity of the electoral process, the Indian National Congress demands a full inquiry into the incident and immediate corrective action against the concerned official," the Congress leader demanded.

Mishra has also separately written to the returning office and Chief Electoral officer and the Election Commission about the incident, demanding action against the accused.