{
  "id": 7116636,
  "title": "How Mammootty surprised Siddique-Lal after refusing a hairstyle change for Hitler",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/13/how-mammootty-surprised-siddique-lal-after-refusing-a-hairstyle",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-13T14:30:49.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Indian Express",
    "slug": "the-indian-express",
    "url": "https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/malayalam/how-mammootty-surprised-siddique-lal-after-refusing-a-hairstyle-change-for-hitler-10876476/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Siddique-Lal, the legendary Malayalam cinema director duo, parted ways in the mid-1990s, but their collaboration produced five blockbuster films. Despite their separation, they remained close friends and occasionally worked together. In 1996, Siddique directed Hitler with Mammootty in the lead role, and Lal served as the producer. During pre-production, a minor disagreement arose between Mammootty and Lal when the actor refused to alter his hairstyle according to Siddique's suggestion. Post-production, during the first shot of Hitler, Mammootty complied with Siddique's direction, despite initially resisting. Later, during an interview on Safari TV, Siddique recounted the incident, highlighting how Mammootty's stubbornness and insistence on his preferred hairstyle ultimately led to its inclusion in the film.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [
    "Siddique-Lal and Mammootty remained close friends post-partition.",
    "Mammootty initially refused hairstyle change suggested by Siddique.",
    "Mammootty complied with Siddique's direction during first shot of Hitler."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}