 Following a spell of commercially disappointing Tamil films as the lead actor, Abbas worked on several prestigious films in the early 2000s as a second hero.He appeared as Rajinikanth's son-in-law in "Padayappa" (1999), before portraying the role of a doctor in Kamal Haasan's historical film, "Hey Ram" (2000).Abbas then appeared in Rajiv Menon's multi-starrer "Kandukondain Kandukondain" (2000), in which he was paired with Aishwarya Rai, and the film went on to win positive reviews from critics.