Unlike his first two films, his third film did not fare well at the box office despite winning positive reviews. "Desiya Geetham" (1998) told the story of a Chief Minister being kidnapped and taken to a remote village, and it subsequently met with a controversial response from politicians. Despite Cheran's intervention and explanation of the script to senior political figures, the film was quickly removed from cinema halls, much to the director's dismay. However, the film won good reviews and a critic noted it was "a rare, good movie with a message" and added that Cheran "deserves credit for making a movie that tries to tell something and keeping away from the usual, commercial add-ons". Following the film's failure, Cheran announced several projects before opting not to continue with them. He initially considered other films with Murali, one co-starring Shammi Kapoor titled "Paraseega Roja", and another co-starring Meena titled "Maaya Maan" but the films did not progress. Cheran then moved on an urban love story starring Prashanth, Shamitha and himself in the lead roles. The film was initially titled "Inniya Kaadalargale" and then renamed as "Vinnodum Mugilodum", but the film was also later dropped. Another light-hearted film titled "Aagaya Kottai" was planned with Arunkumar, Suriya and Raju Sundaram, but it did not start production.