Karuppu was introduced as an actor by director
Bala in
Pithamagan (2003) as a person who works in the
ganja plantations. As a result of the role, he was thereafter credited in films as Ganja Karuppu. In the 2000s, he subsequently was regularly cast in rural films by directors, working on notable films including
Ameer's
Raam (2005) and
Paruthiveeran (2007),
Sasikumar's
Subramaniapuram (2008),
Samuthirakani's
Naadodigal (2009) and
Sargunam's
Kalavani (2010). During the period, he was also cast in the second lead role in
Chimbudevan's
Arai En 305-il Kadavul (2008) alongside
Santhanam, produced by
S Pictures. The period of success meant that he was cast in the lead role of a film titled
Mannar Valaikuda by Dhanasekaran. Despite making progress, the film about the plight of the fishermen community did not have a theatrical release. In 2012, Karuppu was set to enter
Bollywood with a role in the Hindi remake of
Samuthirakani's
Poraali (2011), but the film eventually did not materialise. He had revealed that he would change his name to "Ganja Khan" for his stint in the Hindi film industry. Karuppu chose to turn film producer with
Velmurugan Borewells (2014) but the film went through production delays and had a low profile theatrical release, losing him a significant amount of money. Director Bala later criticised Karuppu for unnecessarily putting his acting career in jeopardy with the move. Following a period away from notable films, Karuppu made a comeback with significant roles in
S. J. Surya's as
Isai (2015) and
Dharma Durai (2016). In 2017, he participated in the first season of the Tamil reality television show
Bigg Boss hosted by
Kamal Haasan. After regularly clashing with fellow actor
Bharani, he was evicted on day 14. == Personal life ==