Antony P Thekkek a.k.a Thampi Antony, a recognized poet in India, became an actor through the hit Malayalam film Arabia in 1995. As his brother Babu Antony was a well-known star in Malayalam films, Thekkek received a great deal of publicity in his first film itself. The critics and the audience unanimously embraced Safar Ali, the character played by Thekkek in the film. The audience called him Thampi Antony, as he was already known by his pen name Thampi through his poetries.
He was overwhelmed with offers from the film industry. However, Thampi, the owner and CEO of several health care facilities in Northern California, found it difficult to strike a balance between his business and his acting career. So he put a hold on his acting career and returned to the US to concentrate on his businesses. He made a promise to himself that he would return to acting only if he were to find an exceptional role in an exceptional film. But again, Thampi declined other offers and waited for a compelling script. In his free time, he wrote and starred in a comedy play Idichakka Plamood Police Station (1999) which was well received and ran to packed houses in different cities in the U.S. Later he wrote two more comedy dramas called Dr. Diva sahayam and Ente Marykuttyai Ithaamerikaya.
