After beginning his career as a photo journalist, Raghuraj apprenticed as an editor with B. Lenin, before receiving an opportunity from producer K. T. Kunjumon to direct his first feature film, Sakthi (1997).
The film, featuring Vineeth and Yuvarani in the lead roles, received negative reviews and performed poorly at the box office.
[2] This prompted Raghuraj to remake the film as Ice (2003) in Tamil, with newcomer Ashok and Priyanka Trivedi in the lead roles.
Comparatively, the Tamil version did not perform as well and critics noted that the film "makes viewers feel restless".
[3][4] In 2004, Raghuraj briefly worked on a project titled Jockey with Prashanth, Laila and Malavika in the lead roles, but the film was later stalled.