His father P. Malaichamy served as a Member of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly during 1967-76 on behalf of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).

Malaichamy was also one of the DMK members jailed during the 1975-77 Indian Emergency under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA).

[7] However, Malathi Rangarajan of the same paper says he first appeared in a minuscule role in Bharathiraja's 1987 film Vedham Pudhithu.

A few memorable roles of him include Bagavathi (2002), Imsai Arasan 23rd Pulikecei (2006), Kalavani (2010), Lingaa (2014), Kanaa (2018) and NGK (2019).

[10] In addition to his film career, Ilavarasu has also ventured into television, appearing in the 2022 series Anandha Ragam on Sun TV.