[citation needed] Karthika made her debut as an actress through Sanjay Ram's Thoothukudi, a village action drama, where she appeared opposite choreographer-turned-actor Harikumar.
She was recognised by director Bala, who cast her in the leading female role of a bling beggar opposite Arya in Naan Kadavul (2009) during mid-2007.
However, despite being completing a test shoot, where she was asked to beg in the streets of Periyakulam, Bala later dropped her from the project.
[4] Some of the other films she worked on during the period including Raghavan's Alaiyodu Vilaiyadu, Jawahar Pattalam and Machan also failed to have a theatrical release.
[citation needed] In mid-2019, Karthika announced plans of making a comeback to acting.