He then successfully collaborated with director Subhash Ghai starting with "Vidhaata" (1982), in which he starred alongside Sanjay Dutt, Sanjeev Kumar and Shammi Kapoor. Later that year he starred alongside Amitabh Bachchan in Ramesh Sippy's "Shakti" which was a hit grosser at the box office and won him critical acclaim and his eighth and final Filmfare Award for Best Actor. In 1984, he starred in Yash Chopra's social crime drama "Mashaal" opposite Anil Kapoor which failed at the box office but his performance was critically acclaimed. He also appeared alongside Rishi Kapoor in "Duniya" (1984) and Jeetendra in "Dharm Adhikari" (1986). His second collaboration with Subhash Ghai came with the 1986 ensemble action film "Karma". "Karma" marked the first film which paired him opposite fellow veteran actress Nutan. Three decades earlier however, they were paired together in an incomplete and unreleased film titled "Shikwa". He acted opposite Nutan again in the 1989 film "Kanoon Apna Apna". In 1991, Kumar starred alongside fellow veteran actor Raaj Kumar in "Saudagar", his third and last film with director Subhash Ghai. This was his second film with Raaj Kumar after 1959's "Paigham". "Saudagar" was Kumar's last box office success. In 1993, he won the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to the industry for five decades. In 1992, producer Sudhakar Bokade announced a film titled "Kalinga" which would officially mark Kumar's directorial debut after he had allegedly previously ghost directed "Ganga Jamuna" (1961) and "Dil Diya Dard Liya" (1967). Kumar was also set to star in the title role with the cast including Raj Babbar, Raj Kiran, Amitoj Mann and Meenakshi Seshadri. After being delayed for several years, "Kalinga" was eventually left incomplete and shelved. In 1998, he made his last film appearance in the box office flop "Qila", where he played dual roles as an evil landowner who is murdered and as his twin brother who tries to solve the mystery of his death. In 2001, he was set to appear in a film titled "Asar — The Impact" alongside Ajay Devgan and Priyanka Chopra, which was shelved.