Eighties

His first attempt at direction came through an unfortunate turn of events with the demise of director T.N. Baalu during the filming of Sankarlal in 1981. Kamal reached superstardom in 1979 with multiple classics and mass blockbusters which coincided with the decline of MGR/Sivaji era in movies (MGR quit movies in 1977 while Sivaji, nevertheless continued to act till the 90s). A huge factor behind Kamal's success is his versatility.
In this period, he has played amongst other roles:
A blind violinist in Raja Paarvai at the age of 27 (first screenplay by Kamal)
A classical dancer in Saagara Sangamam
A mentally challenged man who falls in love in Swathi Muthyam
An undercover cop in Kaaki Sattai
A benevolent underworld don in Nayagan (Leader) at the age of 33 (directed by Mani Ratnam) An unemployed youth who chances upon a week of opulence in the silent movie Pushpak
An honest cop, a dwarf circus clown and a fun-loving mechanic in Apoorva Sagodharargal at the age of 35 (screenplay by Kamal)
A corrupt mayor in Indrudu Chandrudu, Telugu A spy in Vikram
An illiterate villager in Sakalakala Vallavan

Apoorva Sagodharargal, which released in 1989, was the first Kamal film to gross almost Rs.100 million at the box office