[2] His debut song "Why This Kolaveri Di", composed for the 2012 film 3, went viral across the globe and has achieved over 450 million views on YouTube.

Murugadoss signed him to compose music for Kaththi (2014) starring Vijay & Samantha[4] which included the viral hit "Selfie Pulla".

[5] In 2016, he signed a record deal with Sony Music, which publishes his independent albums and live concerts.

[6] In the same year, he featured with Diplo on the remix of Major Lazer's hit single "Cold Water".

Moreover, Sony Music India released the complete background score of Ethir Neechal via YouTube owing to its popularity.

Another promotional song, "Chennai City Gangster", saw him collaborate again with Hiphop Tamizha and British Indian rapper Hard Kaur, with the trio also featuring in a music video for the film.

[32][33] In September 2013, he was signed on to compose the background score for Selvaraghavan's fantasy film Irandam Ulagam, after Harris Jayaraj had opted out.

Anirudh noted his happiness at working with Selvaraghavan early in his career, despite being called up as a replacement and subsequently recorded for the film in Budapest.

[36] The film subsequently became a blockbuster at the box office, with Anirudh receiving the Filmfare award for best music director.

Murugadoss then signed him on to compose music for Kaththi, starring Vijay, becoming Anirudh's highest profile album at the time.

The album and especially the background score received positive reviews from critics and topped the iTunes India Charts.

[38][39] Next, Anirudh again collaborated with Sivakarthikeyan for the film Kaaki Sattai, produced by Dhanush under his production company.

In May 2016, Anirudh signed a deal with Sony Music India for his independent albums and live concerts.

The first single, "Kutti Story", sung by Vijay himself, received great praise and became popular around the world for its Tanglish lyrics.

[50] The second single sung by Gana Balachander, "Vaathi Coming", became an instant viral hit universally.

The first single "Chellamma" was a hit among the youth with the fun and romantic lyrics, collecting over 100 million views on YouTube.

[59] The first single of Thiruchitrambalam titled "Thaai Kelavi" was released on 24 June 2022 and its lyrics proved controversial.

[60] A social activist lodged a complaint against the makers of the film asking them to change the lyrics of the song,[61] citing disrespect to elderly people.

The film marks Anirudh’s third collaboration with Rajini after Petta and Darbar and fourth with Nelson after Kolamaavu Kokila, Doctor and Beast.

[68] In 2024, he composed music for N. T. Rama Rao Jr.'s Telugu film Devara, which is directed by Koratala Siva.