Balaji Sakthivel began as an assistant director of popular director S. Shankar.

In 2002, he directed his first film, Samurai for Vikram - however despite receiving positive reviews, did not make it big at the box-office. After a two-year break, he released Kaadhal under the S Pictures banner, the production house of Shankar. The film starring relatively new actors, Bharath and Sandhya made it big at the box-office and earned the stars and the director instant recognition.