His influences include Charles Bukowski, Vinod Kumar Shukla and Nirmal Verma, to whom he paid homage in his 2010 play Red Sparrow.

In 2004, Kaul staged Shakkar Ke Paanch Daane, a dramatic monologue in Hindi about a small-towner whose "structured middle-India existence begins to feel suspiciously like a lie.

[9] In his next play, Peele Scooter Wala Aadmi Kaul explored a father-son relationship in an open-ended narrative, and adopted a style of poetic dialogue similar to that employed by Vinod Kumar Shukla and Nirmal Verma.

[10][11] In 2006, moving away from internal monologues, Kaul staged a bitter-sweet meditation on old age called Bali aur Shambhu, featuring Sudhir Pandey and Mishra.

The Times of India found it "not as philosophical as Shakkar Ke Paanch Daane, yet, it's a story that tugs at your heartstrings and has its moments,"[12] while the Mumbai Theatre Guide described it as "one of those plays that appeal to the senses but not to the intellect.

"[14] In 2009, Kaul directed Ranga Shankara's Hindi adaptation of Jean-Paul Sartre's Huis Clos, with The Hindu describing his "treatment of non-verbal, physical expression" as impressive.