Anandaraj was born and brought up in
Pondicherry. After schooling, his father wanted him to become a police officer, but Anandaraj wanted to try something different as he was fascinated with films. His family supported his dreams. He joined
M.G.R. Government Film and Television Training Institute,
Chennai for a course.
Kannada actor
Shiva Rajkumar was his classmate. Anandaraj was under the impression that offers would come his way, but later he had to struggle for an opportunity and finally started off with the 1988 film
Oruvar Vaazhum Aalayam, starring
Prabhu and
Sivakumar, and later
En Thangachi Padichava, directed by
P. Vasu, gave him the much-needed break in all the four south Indian languages. He did
Suresh Krissna’s
Raja Kaiya Vacha (1990) with
Prabhu, in which he essayed a positive role. However, he appeared with
Vijayakanth and starred in several films together. On playing the hero roles, Anand Raj mentioned: "When one gets popular being a villain, people around you always push you to take the next step and it was one of those phases when I took up offers to play the lead role". He went on to play lead roles in the films
Palaivana Paravaigal,
Kaaval Nilayam,
Thambi Oorukku Puthusu,
Government Mappillai,
Pokkiri Thambi,
Kizhakku Veluthathchu,
David Uncle,
En Rajangam,
Puthiya Aatchi and
My India. Even though directors offered him good scripts, the films just didn't work well at the box office. The huge popularity that Anandaraj gained during the late eighties elevated him to the status of hero and he and
R. Sarathkumar together starred in a few action films. While Sarathkumar hit stardom, Anandaraj who was billed above him in their films together did not sustain his position and went back to playing small roles. He has acted as a villain alongside most of the top actors, like
Balakrishna (
Muddula Mavayya),
Vijayakanth (
Pulan Visaranai),
Chiranjeevi (
Gang Leader),
Rajinikanth (
Baashha),
Mammootty (
Makkal Aatchi),
R. Sarathkumar (
Suryavamsam),
Arjun (
Ezhumalai) and
Vijay (
Pokkiri). Anandaraj made a switch to comedy in
Mundasupatti, directed by Ramkumar and released in 2014. Director
Prabhu Deva offered Anandaraj the lead in the role and asked him not to react to anything, even though a baddie is expected to give exaggerated expressions.
Prabhu Deva wanted Anandaraj to sport a certain look, so he underwent intense training for a year and lost about 12 kilos and fulfilled Prabhu Deva's expectation to get signed for
Action Jackson (2014). He played a don in the film and his look was completely different from the one he had tried in the south, as he spots a lizard tattoo on his head. His other films include
Maragadha Naanayam (2017)
Katha Nayagan (2017),
Sathya (2017) and
Gulaebaghavali (2018). He's almost perfected the role of the comic villain. For the film
Jackpot (2019), Anandaraj received Best comedian from
Vikatan. He played a role in
Bigil (2019) has expressed his disappointment over the filmmaker for the way he approached his character in the film in post production. He acted in
Santhanam's films subsequently such as
Biskoth (2020),
Dikkiloona (2021) and
80s Buildup (2023). ==Personal life==