Nineties

Kamal's second attempt at direction came through another unfortunate turn of events when the original director Shantanu Sheroey failed to do a good job while filming Chachi 420 in 1997. Inspired by the European style of closer-to-reality docu-dramas, Kamal moved decisively towards making films for select classes in the 90s, isolating some of his ardent fans.

In this period, he has played:As a Doctor in hilarious Tamil movie Sathy Leelavathy

As quadruplets in the comedy Michael Madhana Kamarajan
As an old and highly-corrupt mayor in Indiran Chandiran
A mentally-challenged man in the romance Guna
A modern youth turned villager in Thevar Magan at the age of 38 (written and produced by Kamal)
A hapless villager who lost and re-discovers his family in a metropolis in Mahanadhi
A revolutionary lecturer in Nammavar
A special police squad officer against terrorism in Kuruthipunal
A righteous old revolutionary as well as his corrupt son in Indian
An old nanny in Avvai Shanmugi at the age of 42 Indian which released in 1996 grossed almost Rs.200 million at the box office marking a new peak in his career.