Cheran subsequently chose to prioritise acting commitments in order to raise finances for his subsequent film. He starred in T. V. Chandran's award-winning "Aadum Koothu" (2008), Karu Pazhaniappan's "Pirivom Santhippom" (2008) and "Raman Thediya Seethai" (2009). In his films, he often portrayed meek and mellow roles as a family-orientated man. The films all performed well commercially, and won good reviews for Cheran as an actor. For the fourth time, Cheran finally moved on to make "Pokkisham" (2009) and cast Padmapriya alongside himself in the lead role during 2008. Set in the 1970s, the story revolved around two lovers – a Muslim Tamil literature student and a Hindu marine engineer working in Calcutta. "Pokkisham" opened to mixed reviews from critics, with many reviewers calling the screenplay too slow. The film subsequently fared poorly at the box office.