He came to national fame in the 1990s when he interviewed sandalwood and ivory smuggler Veerappan, who was surviving in the forests and committing crimes on the Tamil Nadu–Karnataka border, eluding the police of the two states.
Apart from his academics, he was part of his college hockey team and was involved in creating artworks that could be considered as one of the early signs of a contemporary layout artist and editor.
In 1985, Nakkheeran Gopal was rightly identified by Valampuri John, the editor of Thai magazine run by the then Chief Minister M. G. Ramachandran.
[3][4] As an act of bravery, Nakkheeran is the first magazine to interview and expose a portrait of South India’s forest brigand Veerappan.
After eight months of imprisonment, Gopal was ordered to be set free on bail by a division bench of the Madras High Court while allowing a habeas corpus petition filed by his brother.
Emerging out of the prison, Gopal said obtaining bail was the 'first blow' to the "autocratic rule" of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa.
Let the government file any number of false cases, we will emerge victorious," he said in brief remarks as he was given a rousing reception by magazine staff and others in front of the prison complex.
"Challenge" describes the agony put forth by Jayalalithaa between 1991 and 1996, whereas his Yutham (elaborated in four parts) briefs how his team tackled the distress caused by the 2001–06 TN Govt.