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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Siddaramaiah tells Centre not to punish Karnataka for being progressive
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday underlined the need for justice in the devolution of taxes.
He said no one should milk a milch cow completely, or else the calf would be malnourished.
Addressing people on the occasion of the 69th state formation day at Sree Kanteerava Stadium here, Siddaramaiah said there is injustice happening to Karnataka.
The state is contributing more than Rs four lakh crore as revenue to the Centre and it is the second largest contributor to the Central tax revenue after Maharashtra, he pointed out.
"Even though we give more than Rs four lakh crore, we are only getting Rs 55,000 crore to Rs 60,000 crore. Kannadigas should know this. We are getting 14 to 15 per cent only of our contribution," the chief minister said.
Under the federal system, there should not be any injustice just because Karnataka is a progressive state, he observed.
"Just because a milch cow is giving milk, we should not milk it completely. We should leave some milk for the calf too or else it will malnourish. This no one should ever forget," Siddaramaiah said.
The chief minister emphasised taking pride in Kannada and bringing it in daily use as much as possible.
Stating that Karnataka has people speaking more than 200 languages, Siddaramaiah said, whatever language people speak here or whichever caste or religion they belong to, they all are Kannadigas. Those who consume the air, water and food are Kannadigas, he told the gathering.
He said Kannada is a very old language with a history of 7,000 years. Hence, the Centre too recognised it as a classical language.
Siddaramaiah appealed to the people that they should never sacrifice Kannada language.
"I don't oppose being liberal. I in fact endorse being liberal but not at the cost of sacrificing our language," the chief minister noted.
"Our affection for our language should not be extreme, but we should never give up our pride for our language. We all should be Kannada lover," he added.
For Kannada to grow, people living here must become Kannadigas, Siddaramaiah said.
"I will never say not to learn any other language. Keep enhancing your linguistic wealth but never forget speaking in Kannada," he told people.
He reminded people that November 1 is not only the state formation day but also the anniversary of Mysore state getting the name of Karnataka by the then chief minister, late D Devaraj Urs.
A cultural programme themed around 'Hesarayithu Karnataka, Usiragali Kannada' (the state got the name Karnataka, now Kannada should become the breath) was held on the occasion.
