In 1998, Balaji began his film career as a unit production manager on the sets of Kamal Haasan's unreleased Marudhanayagam and as an assistant director for the delayed Kamarasu.

[4][5] Balaji's first role was in the television serial Chithi, where he played a character named Daniel.

[6] After the success of the show, in his second serial Alaigal, director Sunder K. Vijayan, named him as Daniel Balaji based on his own character in Chithi.

The film, directed by Gautham Vasudev Menon, was about a squad of policemen fighting organized crime in Chennai.

[8] He also acted as one of the villains in the Telugu film Chirutha and followed this up by playing the hero in Muthirai, produced by Vision Jeeva Studios.