Thala,[26] Tamil for Leader, became a new identity for the actor amongst his fans.[27] In the same year, he was offered a role in Nandha, which he rejected.[28] His next was the much-hyped thriller, Citizen, portraying Ajith in ten different get-ups and it became a commercial success at the box office, though being labelled a disappointment from critics.[29] A role in the family drama, Poovellam Un Vasam followed opposite Jyothika and was a success commercially and critically earning a Special Best Actor Award from the Tamil Nadu State.[30] The year ended off with an appearrected by Rajiv Menon. The blockbuster featured Ajith alongside prominent actors Mammooty and Abbas and actresses Aishwarya Rai, Tabu and Srividya.[21] In a similar role to his previous film, Ajith played a struggling film director facing an oscillating relationship with Tabu, with the pair being unanimously praised for their roles.[22][23] After giving 6 stfilms. Dheraight hits in 1999 and having had Mugavaree and Kandukondain Kandukondain in 2000 as success, Aith had a flop Unnai Kodu Ennai TharuIn 2001, Ajith appeared in 3 commercially successful Tamil lm's script, whilst adding 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 debut film co-starring Laila Mehdin and Suresh Gopi, indirectly marked the beginning of a new image of Ajith, that of an action hero that would appeal to the masses.[25] Furthermore, from the successful film, Ajith's nickname in the film,ance in Santosh Sivan's Hindi project, Asoka, in which Ajith appeared in a brief negative role alongside Shah Rukh Khan, 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. The third film, Villain, in which Ajith appeared in dual roles, one as a mentally ill handicap,