A prolific director and producer, Thampi Kannanthanam made his debut with Thavalam in 1983 and made over 15 films, including one in Hindi.
Thampi was one of the directors from the 80s, aside from IV Sasi and K Madhu, who was instrumental in giving Mohanlal an action superstar image through his first blockbuster, Rajavinte Makan. Mohanlal appeared in the movie as Vincent Gomez, now one of his iconic roles. Thampi was also the film's producer.
One can call Rajavinte Makan the precursor to Devasuram, Spadikam, Aaraam Thampuran, and Narasimham. Thampi also made Bhoomiyile Rajakkanmaar, Manthrikam, Masmaram and Onnaman. Mohanlal's son Pranav made his debut as a child actor in Onnaman.
Actor-turned-director Madhupal, who starred in Manthrikam, says, "It was Thampi who brought the concept of the mass hero in Malayalam cinema. His movies inspired a lot of subsequent mass entertainers. The characters in the movies he made had their own unique identities. They are still celebrated today. We don't see such characters anymore. I was forunate enough to work with him."
Actor Kunchan, who worked with the director in several movies, says, "He was such a talented, healthy and physically active man. This news comes as a big shock to me. We used to be neighbours in Chennai. He was very friendly. He used to visit us often and talk about our families."
Apart from directing and producing, Thampi also penned the scripts to three films, Aa Neram Alppa Dooram, Janmandharam, and Freedom.
Thampi's last film was Freedom, which came out in 2004. He wasn't active in cinema since then. He is survived by his wife Kunjumol and daughters Aishwarya and Angel.