rected by Rajiv Menon.

The blockbuster
featured Ajith alongside prominent actors Mammooty and Abbas and actresses Aishw
arya Rai,
Tabu and Srividya.[21] In a similar role to his previous film, Ajith played a st
ruggling fi
lm director facing an oscillating relationship with Tabu, with the pair being un
animously p
raised for their roles.[22][23] After giving 6 stfilms. Dheraight hits in 1999 a
nd having had Mugavare
e and Kandukondain Kandukondain in 2000 as success, Aith had a flop Unnai Kodu E
nnai Tharu
In 2001, Ajith appeared in 3 commercially successful Tamil lm's script, whilst a
dding that "
it is amazing to see how Ajith has grown as an actor.
He brilliantly portrays the vulnerable and sad Sridhar".[20] He also appeared in
A. R.
Rahman's 2000 musical Kandukondain Kandukondain diena, A. R. Murugadoss's d
ebut film co-starring Laila Mehdin and Suresh Gopi, indirectly marked the beginn
ing of a new i
mage of Ajith, that of an action hero that would appeal to the masses.[25] Furth
ermore, from t
he successful film, Ajith's nickname in the film, Thala,[26] Tamil for Leader, b
ecame a new id
entity for the actor amongst his fans.[27] In the same year, he was offered a ro
le in Nandha, w
hich he rejected.[28] His next was the much-hyped thriller, Citizen, portraying
Ajith in ten di
fferent get-ups and it became a commercial success at the box office, though bei
ng labelled a di
sappointment from critics.[29] A role in the family drama, Poovellam Un Vasam fo
llowed opposite
Jyothika and was a success commercially and critically earning a Special Best Ac
tor Award from t
he Tamil Nadu State.[30] The year ended off with an appearance in Santosh Sivan'
s Hindi project,
Asoka, in which Ajith appeared in a brief negative role alongside Shah Rukh Kha
n, which flopped
.[31] 2002 saw Ajith appear in three films, the first two; Red[32] and Raja[33]
being box office
disappointments, the former further building up his image as an action hero. Th
e third film, Villa
in, in which Ajith appeared in dual roles, one as a mentally ill handicap,