Malayalam director Thampi Kannanthanam passed away on October 2 at a private hospital in Kochi. He was 64 years old. Kannanthanam directed around 15 films, delivering many hits in the ‘80s and ‘90s. His first hit came in 1986 with the Mohanlal film Rajavinte Makan, a break for both the director and the actor.
Other well-known films include Vazhiyorakazhchakal, Indrajaalam, Nadodi, Chukkan, Manthrikam and Onnaman. He has also been an occasional actor appearing in movies like Itha Oru Theeram, Nirnayam and Oru Cheru Punchiri. Thampi has also produced and scripted movies in his decades-old career.
Born in December 1953 to Kannanthanathu Baby and Thankamma as their sixth son in Kanjirappally, Kottayam, Thampi nurtured dreams of making films from an early age. After finishing his studies from the St Dominic College, he had decided to start a business related to cinema. But when that didn’t happen he took off to Madras with a relative. There he met director Sasikumar and worked as his assistant in films like Madrasile Mon.
The first film he directed is Thaavalam which came out in 1983. But it didn’t turn out to be a success. Neither did his next two films – Passport and Aa Neram Alpa Dooram. But then came Rajavinte Makan and the combination of Kannanthanam and Mohanlal appeared to work magic on screen. Thampi had also produced this film.
In 1990, he directed and produced Indrajaalam, again with Mohanlal in the lead and Rajan P Dev became known for his villain character ‘Carlose’. Six years later, Thampi stepped into the world of distribution with the film Saakshyam.
In 2001, when he took another Mohanlal film called Onnaman, Thampi also introduced to cinema, the actor’s son, Pranav who played the child version of his dad’s character and won a lot of appreciation. The last film he directed is Freedom, which came out in 2004.
Thampi leaves behind his wife Kunjumol, and children Aishwarya and Angel.