He attended Gandhi Nikethan higher secondary school in T. Kallupatti and also graduated from Madras Institute of Technology with a bachelor's degree in automobile engineering.

[1] During his college days, he was a journalist, writing many articles for the Tamil magazine Ananda Vikatan.

[citation needed] Ganesan then made Five Star (2002), which happened to be his first release, due to the delay of his first project Virumbugiren.

Five Star, produced by his mentor Mani Ratnam under the banner Madras Talkies, featured five newcomers in the title roles.

It was named the third Best Film of the year by the Tamil Nadu State Government and gave major breaks to the leading actors, with the performances of Jeevan and Malavika, in particular, being considerably appreciated.