Actor Suriya visited the late director Siddique's residence in Kakkanad recently. A video of him at Siddique's residence is going viral on social media. Suriya was accompanied by director Rajasekhar. The actor, who starred in the Tamil remake of 'Friends' directed by Siddique, recalled how the Mollywood filmmaker had played an important role in his life. For Suriya, 'Friends' was a turning point in his life. The actor took to X, previously Twitter, to share his memories of the late director.
"Memories rush in and my heart is heavy. Siddique sir's demise is an irreplaceable loss. My heartfelt condolence to his family and friends. I stand with you all in this moment of grief. Friends was an important film me in many ways. Siddique sir was inherently an encouraging man wh would compliment actors even if we did a small improvement to the scene.
"He would convey his observations on my performance with a lot of unconditional love, both during shoot and at edit. For the first time I looked forward to being on a film set! He taught me to enjoy the process of filmmaking, have a good laugh and to not take myself seriously. Siddique sir was a senior and much applauded director when he made Friends, but he would treat all of us as equals during the shoot with his friendly approach. I have never seen him angry or rise his voice on set. Working with him is an experience I will cherish forever. He gave me something I didn't have before I met him -the inner confidence to believe in myself and my talent," he wrote.
He added: "Years later, wherever we met, he would enquire about my family and my happiness with much attention to what I was sharing with him. Thank you Siddique sir for your faith, belief and trust in me during my formative years as an actor. I will miss you a whole lot. I pray for your family and friends to find their peace with bearing the physical loss of not having you around. However, the memories and love you have given us, will carry us through our journey ahead,” he wrote.