Anandaraj was under the impression that offers would come his way, but later he had to struggle for an opportunity and finally started off with the 1988 film Oruvar Vaazhum Aalayam, starring Prabhu and Sivakumar, and later En Thangachi Padichava, directed by P. Vasu, gave him the much-needed break in all the four south Indian languages.

[2][4] The huge popularity that Anandaraj gained during the late eighties elevated him to the status of hero and he and R. Sarathkumar together starred in a few action films.

While Sarathkumar hit stardom, Anandaraj who was billed above him in their films together did not sustain his position and went back to playing small roles.

He has acted as a villain alongside most of the top actors, like Balakrishna (Muddula Mavayya), Vijayakanth (Pulan Visaranai), Chiranjeevi (Gang Leader), Rajinikanth (Baashha), Mammootty (Makkal Aatchi), R. Sarathkumar (Suryavamsam), Arjun (Ezhumalai) and Vijay (Pokkiri).

Many years later, Anandaraj made a sudden switch to comedy in Mundasupatti directed by Ramkumar released in 2014 that had audiences falling off their seats and there had been no looking back since then.

Anandaraj has become a hot favorite of young directors who write quirky characters for him which he performs with his signature style that has gained him a huge fan following in the younger generation of movie goers.

[5] Director Prabhu Deva offered Anandaraj the lead in the role and asked him not to react to anything, even though a baddie is expected to give exaggerated expressions.