Ustad Hotel was supposed to be my first Malayalam film: Siddharth

Siddharth is unarguably one of the most talented and versatile among the younger generation of actors in South cinema. Starting as an assistant director to Mani Ratnam, Siddharth then plunged to acting with Shankar’s Boys. Soon, he made big strides and started bagging roles in Hindi and Telugu films. After 16 years of being in the industry, Siddharth is finally making his Malayalam debut this year with Dileep’s ‘Kammara Sambhavam’.

In a recent interview, when asked why it took him so long to be part of Malayalam industry, Siddharth said that he has always been in talks with filmmakers from Kerala but never got the right script. Interestingly, ‘Ustad Hotel’ might have been his first Malayalam film but he didn’t have the time back then and was unlucky to miss out.

Ustad Hotel directed by Anwar Rasheed is rated as one of the finest Malayalam movies in the past decade or so. Anjali Menon scripted the movie which had Dulquer Salmaan, Thilakan and Nithya Menen in the lead roles. Ustad Hotel gave a massive image makeover for Dulquer, who made a less glamorous outing with Second Show. The movie even won a couple of National awards. Siddharth was indeed unlucky to have missed out on such a movie.

But the wait for the right script proved fruitful as Kammara Sambhavam looks highly promising. The movie directed by Rathish Ambat is an epic set in three different timelines. Murali Gopy has scripted the movie which focuses on historical accounts and how it is depicted by the ones who wrote it. While Dileep plays Kammaran, Siddharth, plays the role of Othenan Nambiar. Commendably, Siddharth himself has dubbed in Malayalam. Kammara Sambhavam is set to hit screens next month as a grand Vishu release.