He holds a PhD in Tamil literature,[1] and worked as a journalist before his cinematic career.
[2] Gnanavel made his debut as a dialogue writer for Raththa Sarithiram (2010) and Payanam (2011) before working as an assistant director.
[3][4] In 2017, he made his directorial debut with the comedy Kootathil Oruthan about an ordinary man, starring Ashok Selvan and Priya Anand, which released to average reviews.
[4][5] He received critical acclaim for his next film Jai Bhim (2021), which was based on a case handled by Justice K. Chandru.
Gnanavel had interviewed Chandru before he handled the case while working for Ananda Vikatan.