In 2016, while leading his role at Tamada, Karthik and Vidhyadhar started pre-production on their next short film, Vara, which would be a crowd-funded project, eventually releasing in 2017.

[2] In 2017, Karthik made his debut as an actor with Rohit & Sasi's Story Discussion, in which he played the character of producer Mani Kishore.

Post that, he began working on his third collaboration with Vidhyadhar, a feature film titled Gaami; it was officially announced in July 2018.

[6][7] Serving as a producer, he played a pivotal role in garnering financial support for the project, which eventually led to the commencement of principal photography later that year.

[8][9] During 2019 and 2020, the production of Gaami entered its intensive phase, facing challenges due to logistical constraints and unforeseen events like the India-Pakistan border skirmishes and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Karthik Sabareesh remained dedicated to the project, overseeing various aspects of production to ensure its successful completion.