Ajith appeared in five films during 1997, with none of the projects doing well commercially. During the same period, he had entered into the film distribution business and had experienced losses as a result. Describing the period as a "cruel time", Ajith also continued to suffer from chronic back injuries and several of his other film commitments had become delayed. A notable project among the five films was Amitabh Bachchan's Tamil production "Ullaasam" (1997), in which he was paid a high salary of for the first time.