In 1998, "Tholi Prema" was released and won a National Award and six Nandi Awards.This movie was directed by A. Karunakaran and produced by G. V. G. Raju. After "Tholi Prema", Kalyan acted in "Thammudu", playing the role of a kick boxer. "Thammudu" was released on 15 July 1999 and was written and directed by P. A. Arun Prasad.In 20 April 2000, he acted in Puri Jagannadh's first directorial venture "Badri".Produced by T. Trivikrama Rao and music composed by Ramana Gogula