BREAKTHOUGH

In 1998, debutant director Bala offered him the role of the titulat 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.[7][16] During this phase, he did not accept other acting offers in order to maintain the continuity of his looks. Sethu took two full years to completion. 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".[16] The film initially struggled to find a distributor, but managed to find a buyer after 67 screenings. It was shunned by most distributors due to the tragic climax.[18] The film was 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.[7][11] 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".[19] 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".[20] The performance drew accolades with Vikram winning the Filmfare Special Award – South[21] 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.[22] 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.[16]

Vikram did not sign up to a film for sixty five days after the release of Sethu, to ensure that he made the right career move.[7] Vikram spent time completing projects he had agreed to feature in before the release of Sethu and hence made a couple of appearances in the Malayalam films, Red Indians and the horror film Indriyam.[23] He also played a leading role in Siragugal, a rare Tamil telefilm produced and featuring Radhika Sarathkumar, which was shot entirely in the suburbs of London.[24][25] Furthermore, he also completed two Telugu films during the period; 9 Nelalu and Youth. 9 Nelalu featured Vikram as the husband of the character played by Soundarya, who faces the challenges of being a surrogate mother. The film won positive reviews, with a critic mentioning that Vikram gave a "controlled performance;[26] while Vikram's new found popularity in Tamil films saw the film dubbed into Tamil soon after as Kandane Seethayai, with an inserted comedy track by comedian Vivek.[27] His next release was Rajakumaran's Vinnukum Mannukum, alongside Sarath Kumar, Kushboo and Devayani, which revolved around an ordinary boy falling in love with an actress. Vikram has since mentioned his displeasure at being a part of the film, claiming that he had arguments with the director for every single shot and that "everything in that film, right from the first shot was wrong"; the film became a failure commercially.[28][29]

Vikram signed on to feature in Dharani's Dhill, in which he played an aspiring police officer, Kanagavel, who tackles a corrupt policeman. To appear trim in the role of the aspiring police officer, Vikram went on a strict diet eating only fruits and drinking juice.[30] The film opened to positive reviews with a critic from The Hindu claiming that "Vikram has the ability and potential" and that "Vikram has once again proved that his success in Sethu was not a fluke".[31] Dhill subsequently went on to become Vikram's first success in the masala film genre and led the way for more such films in the same genre for him.[32] Vikram's portrayal of a blind folk singer in Vinayan's Kasi won him the Filmfare Best Tamil Actor Award and the film also did well commercially.[29] For the movie, he sunbathed on the terrace of his beachside home in Chennai for a sunburnt look and got dizzying headaches while practising to look blind.[30] Again, Vikram's performance won positive reviews from critics with a reviewer describing it as an "extraordinarily detailed performance" and that "as the blind singer, he brings laughter, tears and a lump in one’s throat".[33]