Ilavarasu's debut film was to have been the unproduced Tamil film
Top Tucker, and instead became
Oru Kaidhiyin Diary (1984). He later worked in
Bharathiraja's 1987 film
Vedham Pudhithu. He worked as an assistant to
B. Kannan for the films
Knock-Out (1992),
Nadodi Thendral (1992),
Captain Magal (1993),
Karuthamma (1994) and
Pasumpon (1995). He was credited as one of the main cinematographers for the latter four films although he worked as an assistant cinematographer. The actor has shared screen with many actors in his career. Ilavarasu has played many versatile characters and has entertained the fans with his humour sense. He has also played villain roles in a few films. A few memorable roles of him include
Bagavathi (2002),
Imsai Arasan 23rd Pulikecei (2006),
Kalavani (2010),
Lingaa (2014),
Kanaa (2018) and
NGK (2019). In addition to his film career, Ilavarasu has also ventured into television, appearing in the 2022 series
Anandha Ragam on
Sun TV. ==Filmography==