[1] Nelson began his career in the radio industry, where he worked for ten years, before making his first feature film, Oru Naal Koothu (2016).
[2][3] The romantic drama, focused on modern day marriages, starred a relative rookie cast of Attakathi Dinesh, Miya George and Nivetha Pethuraj in the lead roles.
Upon release, the film won critical acclaim, with a reviewer from The Deccan Chronicle noting "the movie has an engaging screenplay, powerful dialogues backed by intense performances and alluring music".
[8][9] He was then attached to the Tamil remake of the Telugu film Jersey during 2019, with a proposed cast of Vishnu Vishal and Amala Paul, but the project was later stalled.
A reviewer from The Week noted "Nelson Venkatesan's Farhana is like a breath of fresh air; a masterful narrative that weaves together the elements of mystery, intrigue, and psychological suspense, with a silken thread of emotion".