Kannan started his career assisting director Manobala before joining Mani Ratnam for films including Kannathil Muthamittal (2002), Ayutha Ezhuthu (2004) and Guru (2007).

He made his directorial debut with the drama film, Jayamkondaan (2008) starring Vinay, Bhavana and Lekha Washington, winning critical acclaim and commercial success at the box office.

[2] His second film, Kanden Kadhalai, a remake of Imtiaz Ali's Jab We Met (2007), featured Bharath and Tamannaah Bhatia in the lead roles and was also successful commercially.

After the release of Settai, Kannan began pre-production works on a film titled Alangaram to be produced by PVP Cinemas during early 2014.

After unsuccessful negotiations with Dinesh and Sridivya, Kannan eventually finalised Vishnu, Prayaga Martin and Swetha Ashok for the leading roles.