Azhagam Perumal, however, after his graduation, applied to the Adyar Film Institute in spite of stiff opposition from his family.
[3][4] Azhagam Perumal worked as an assistant to director Mani Ratnam from Thalapathi to Iruvar, before leaving to make his independent project.
[5] When Mani Ratnam was shooting Alaipayuthey, he was looking for someone like Jagathy Sreekumar to play the quirky house owner, which Azhagam Perumal eventually did, making his acting debut.
[5] He had initially announced his directorial debut in 1998 as Mudhal Mudhalaaga, a romantic film starring Arvind Swamy and Karisma Kapoor.
He then started making Udhaya in 1999 with Vijay and Simran starring, but the film faced production delays owing to the producer's financial problems.