His next film Vasu (2002) was not very successful at the box office, but garnered a cult following over the years. Karunakaran collaborated with Pawan Kalyan for Balu ABCDEFG (2005), but the film was a failure unlike Tholi Prema. The following year, Happy (2006), based on the Tamil film Azhagiya Theeye (2004) released and was a box office success.
His subsequent film, Vasu (2002), did not perform well commercially but gained a dedicated fanbase over time. Karunakaran collaborated with Pawan Kalyan on Balu ABCDEFG (2005) and Happy (2006). The latter was a box office success while the former failed.