In 1992, he subsequently chose to direct his feature film "Sevagan". Soon after, Shankar cast him in the lead role in his first film, "Gentleman" (1993), after much persuasion. Arjun had initially rejected the film without listening to Shankar's narration but the director's persistence prompted him to feature in the film as a vigilante against corruption. The film opened to positive reviews and went on to become a trendsetter in the Tamil film industry, as well as achieving significant box office success, while Arjun went on to win the State Award for Best Actor. His change of fortune at the box office continued and Arjun began to gain ground as a bankable lead star in action films after his films including his patriotic directorial venture "Jai Hind" (1994) and "Karnaa" (1995), where he played a dual role, went on to become blockbusters. Kamal Haasan approached Arjun to play a police officer in the action thriller film "Kurudhipunal" (1995), and the actor accepted the opportunity and agreed to do the film even without hearing the narration. Arjun won positive acclaim for his role, while the film became India's official entry for the 68th Academy Awards Best Foreign Language Film category.