[2] Guhanathan attended Pachaiyappa’s College and his writing abilities were first spotted by actor MGR, who suggested he worked on film scripts and appointed him as director Chankaya's assistant.
[3] Guhanathan later worked for AVM Studios on a contract, and proceeded to write for films starring Sivaji Ganesan, NTR and Akkineni Nageswara Rao.
Under the advice of A. V. Meiyappan, Guhanathan debuted as a producer aged 20 under his banner of AVM Chithramala Combines and made successful films including Kanimuthu Paappa (1972), Rajapart Rangadurai (1973) and Petha Manam Pithu (1973).
Telugu producer D. Ramanaidu then requested Guhanathan to direct his Tamil production, Madura Geetham (1977), and since he has gone on to make further films including ventures with Rajinikanth and Ajith Kumar.
[5][6] In May 2009, Guhanathan was elected to the Film Employees Federation of South India and pledged to improve conditions and work closely with producers.