Malayalam Filmmaker Siddique suffers heart attack, continues to be on ECMO support
Kochi, Aug 8: Noted Malayalam director and screenwriter Siddique has suffered a heart attack while undergoing treatment for various ailments at a private hospital here, hospital sources said here on Tuesday.
His condition is said to be critical, they said.
Siddique (63) suffered the heart attack on Monday as he was recovering from various ailments, including liver-related issues and pneumonia, at the hospital.
The filmmaker, who had helmed numerous super hit Malayalam movies, had been undergoing treatment at the private hospital for over a month for various ailments.
"He is in a critical condition and on ECMO (Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) support," hospital sources told PTI. ECMO provides respiratory support when a person's lungs and heart are not performing adequately.
Siddique delivered several hit movies along with his friend Lal, and the two were popularly known as 'Siddique-Lal'.
Lal has also acted in various hit films himself such as 'Thenkasipattanam', 'Thommanum Makkalum', and 'Salt and Pepper' among others.
'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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Telangana CM urges Amit Shah to increase sanctioned strength of IPS officers in state
Hyderabad (PTI): Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Wednesday night and urged him to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state in view of its growing administrative and security needs.
The two leaders also discussed the recent surrender of several senior Maoist leaders before the Telangana Police and other issues.
"During the meeting, the two leaders discussed the issue of Maoist surrenders and their rehabilitation. The chief minister informed Shah that significant improvements in policing have taken place in Telangana over the past two years," an official release here said.
Highlighting that 591 Maoists have laid down their arms and joined the mainstream of society during this period, the chief minister said the state government was providing them compensation and rehabilitation assistance as per the rules.
He requested the Union home minister to extend financial support from the central government for development works in the backward regions of the state.
Reddy also urged Shah to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state from 83 to 105 in line with the state's growing administrative and security needs, the statement said.
The first cadre review after the formation of Telangana was conducted in 2016, while the next review, due in 2021, was delayed and finally carried out in 2025. Even then, only seven additional IPS officers were allocated to the state, the chief minister informed Shah and requested that the third cadre review be conducted in 2026 as per the schedule.
Reddy explained that Telangana, like the rest of the country, is facing several modern challenges, including cybercrime, drug trafficking, white-collar crimes, and other emerging security threats.
He highlighted the reorganisation of the Hyderabad, Cyberabad, and Malkajgiri Police Commissionerates, the proposed formation of the Future City Commissionerate and the rapidly growing population in Hyderabad to underline the increasing administrative requirements of the state.
