Actor Siddique is a self confessed foodie who loves to try different cuisines and cooks delicious dishes too. In a note posted on his social media page, the actor talks about how he found a fellow lover of good food in superstar Mohanlal.
Siddique writes that Mohanlal had offered him a ride while returning to Ernakulam after the filming of the movie Ravanaprabhu. Siddique, who knows about Mohanlal's passion for delicious food invited the screen icon for dinner at his home. Mohanlal readily agreed but asked Siddique not to prepare anything special for him. But Siddique was determined to treat Mohanlal to some tasty delicacies especially since the latter was visiting his house for the first time.
“We started from Coimbatore at around 6 pm and reached home by 10pm. My parents, wife Seena and my two kids were at home. My younger daughter wasn’t born then. Lal was very friendly with everyone as if he had known them for a very long time. He played and laughed with my kids. Everyone at my home liked Mohanlal very much. He wouldn’t sit on the chair whenever he comes home. There is a spacious verandah in front of my house where he loves sitting on floor by leaning on a pillar. I don’t think I can ever sit so relaxed at a colleague’s house,” wrote Siddique.
One day, while the filming of Chotta Mumbai was progressing, Siddique got a phone call from Mohanlal. Siddique, meanwhile, had an off day and was at home. Mohanlal asked him whether he could come home for lunch. Siddique said yes, and to his utter surprise Mohanlal asked him to open the gate as he had called from right in front of the house. “This is the real Lal, who loves giving little surprises like this,” says Siddique.
Siddique recalls another heart-warming incident when he experienced the great love and care that Mohanlal has for his colleagues and friends. “I too was part of a one month long Gulf tour with Lal. On the days we have program, we would set out from the hotel to the venue at around 4pm. Lots of snacks, drinks and juices would be waiting for us at the venue. I am usually tensed when I have to do a performance and I am comfortable performing on an empty stomach. Lal kept compelling me to eat something and it is very difficult to say ‘no’ because of the way he speaks. I told him that I was bored with the food and that I wanted to eat some rice and fish curry. 'You could eat that all the time. Now have this. I too would join if you eat something,' said Lal. You cannot refuse after that,” writes Siddique.
They reached the hotel at 2am after the program. Siddique and Jayaram were staying in the rooms on the fourth floor while Mohanlal's room was on the fifth floor. As Siddique was freshening up, the land phone in his room rang. It was Mohanlal on the other side. The actor asked Siddique to come to his room. “What I saw in Lal’s room had surprised me. There were rice and fish curry in two dishes. Lal had owned a restaurant in Dubai then. When I told I wanted to have rice and fish curry, he had called the restaurant and asked them to bring the dishes. He had called me after making sure that the food was already in his room. ‘Don’t go to sleep wishing to eat rice and fish curry,’ Lal told me. My eyes welled up at that moment. I poured some fish curry into the rice and started mixing it. Seeing that Mohanlal said, ‘It is amazing to watch how you mix it. Can I have some?’ I fed him a nice, squishy ball of rice mixed with fish curry. Then, he too took some rice and fish curry in another plate and joined me for dinner. Not everyone would be fortunate to experience such love from a colleague, brother or even a friend,” Siddique concludes his note.
