the success of the project made him direct its hindi version titled as "be-shaque" in 1981, starring mithun chakraborty. after a brief hiatus, in 1984, he took up acting career by casting himself in the lead role for the film "anubhava". the film was widely acclaimed and was considered bold during its time of release. the film had its music composed by l. vaidyanathan with whom he shared a long-lasting rapport and also introduced lyricist-music director v. manohar through the song "hodeya doora o jothegara". the huge success of the film got him the offer to direct its hindi remake titled as "anubhav" (1986) starring shekhar suman and padmini kolhapure.