 In 1997 , debutant director Bala offered him the role of the rogue , Sethu ( Chiyaan ) , in the film Sethu . To prepare for the character , Vikram shaved his head , lost twenty @-@ one kilograms and grew his nails long for the role . After beginning production in April 1997 , the film went through development hell after industry strikes and lack of funds hampered progress . During this phase , he did not accept other acting offers in order to maintain the continuity of his looks . The film then struggled to find a distributor , who shunned it due to the tragic climax and the film remained unreleased . Vikram described the period of production as " the worst phase of his career " as he was financially strapped and " his fire was in danger of dying down " . He turned down an opportunity from a friend to take up a job in technology and attempted to stay in the industry by directing a serial titled <unk> <unk> , with Ameer as his assistant director . Sethu finally released in December 1999 and initially began running at a single noon show at a suburban theater but gradually gained an audience through word @-@ of @-@ mouth publicity . Eventually it ran for over one hundred days at several cinema halls across Chennai . Vikram was constantly being mobbed by people on the streets as a result of the film 's success . Critics praised Vikram 's performance with a reviewer referring to Vikram as " a revelation " and that " he is very natural and his acting in last few scenes are just too good and could even be compared with the best we have seen " . Similarly , a critic from the Malaysian daily , New Straits Times , described the film as an " unforgettable experience " and described Vikram 's performance as " praise @-@ worthy " . The performance drew accolades with Vikram winning the Filmfare Special Award – South and the Tamil Nadu State Film Award Special Prize for his portrayal of the title character , while reports emerged that he missed out on the National Film Award for Best Actor by a single vote to Mohanlal . Post @-@ Sethu , Vikram has described the film would have been close to him regardless of its commercial success and that it put him on the " right path " , with Vikram choosing to adapt the prefix of Chiyaan to his screen name . 
