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Paul Michael (2 December 1958), better known by his stage name Lal, is an Indian film director, actor, script writer, producer, and film distributor widely known for his work in Malayalam cinema.



He is best known for teaming up with Siddique under the shared name Siddique-Lal to make films such as Ramji Rao Speaking (1989), In Harihar Nagar (1990), Godfather (1991), Vietnam Colony (1992), and Kabooliwala (1994). The duo broke off afterwards but he produced Siddique\'s Hitler (1996) and Friends (1999) under his production company Lal Creations. Other films he has produced include Thenkasipattanam (2000), Kalyanaraman (2002), Chathikkatha Chanthu (2004), Thommanum Makkalum (2005), and Chanthupottu (2005).



Lal\'s debut as an actor came in 1997 when he played Paniyan in Jayaraj\'s Kaliyattam. He is known for his serious as well as comedic roles and has twice won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor for his roles in Thalappavu (2008) and Ayal and Zachariayude Garbhinikal (2013). After sixteen years, Lal returned to directing with sequels to In Harihar Nagar, 2 Harihar Nagar (2009) and In Ghost House Inn (2010).


Lal was born on 2 December 1958, as Paul Michael to M. A. Paul and Philomina in a Roman Catholic Latin Rite family of the Archdiocese of Verapoly at Ernakulam. He is married to Nancy. The couple have a son Jean Paul Lal, who is an upcoming movie director and a daughter Monica.Music director Alex Paul, who composed soundtracks for the sequels of In Harihar Nagar, is his younger brother.



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 joined as assistant directors to Fazil in 1984.



The Siddique-Lal team became directors with Ramji Rao Speaking. They went on to make four more hit films in a row: In Harihar Nagar, Godfather, Vietnam Colony and Kabooliwala. Lal and Siddique were also associate directors for Fazil\'s Manichithrathazhu (1993). They are two of the most successful directors in the history of Malayalam cinema. All their movies were record-breaking blockbusters.




After that, both decided to part ways as a director pair and Lal turned producer with the Siddique-directed Mammootty-starrer Hitler.[2] Lal debuted in acting with a villain role as Paniyan in Suresh Gopi-starrerKaliyattam, directed by Jayaraj. Kaliyattam was a new take on Othello where Lal played Paniyan, the character standing for Iago.



Lal started acting in Tamil films with N. Linguswamy\'s Sandakozhi. Lal\'s other major roles include Sikkander Singh in Punjabi House, Jeevan in Ormacheppu, Devin Karlos Padaveedan in Black, Sathyan in Thommanum Makkalum, the title role in Banglavil Outha, Raveendran Pillai in Madhupal\'s Thalappavu, and Johny in A. K. Lohithadas\'s Kanmadam.



Lal became a producer and distributor in the Malayalam film industry in the mid-1990s and established a film production and distribution company named Lal Creations. The first film he produced was Hitler, which was directed by Siddique and starred Mammootty. He then produced Thenkasipattanam by the Rafi-Mecartin duo, in which he played a major role with Suresh Gopi. He also produced Rafi-Mecartin\'s Superman and Chathikkatha Chanthu. Other films he has produced include Siddique\'s Friends, Lal Jose\'s Chanthupottu and Renjith\'s Black.



Lal returned to directing with the 2009 film 2 Harihar Nagar, a sequel to In Harihar Nagar. After its success, he directed another sequel named In Ghost House Inn. It was released on 25 March 2010. It also became a box office success.Then he made two more directural ventures, one with some new commers titled as Tournament(2010) and the other one with Mammootty and himself named as Cobra