2012–2015: Early career and recognition Vikram signed on for a venture under the direction of
Prabhu Solomon to be produced by
N. Linguswamy. Titled
Kumki, the film was based on elephants and the director thus sent Vikram to an elephant training camp in
Ottapalam in Kerala to get himself accustomed to the animals. The film released in December 2012 to critical acclaim and commercial success, emerging as one of the biggest hits of the year. A critic stated that Prabhu excels in the "intensely emotional scenes in the climax", while that "he is also at ease portraying angst, gratitude and rage". Furthermore, the critic wrote that "his physique is a major plus", giving the verdict that he "is expected to carry on the Ganesan family lineage" in films. During the making of
Kumki, Vikram Prabhu began work in
Sattam Oru Iruttarai, a remake of the
1981 film of the same name, produced by
Vijay. He began filming and played the role of an angry young man who feels that the legal system is flawed. The film, which began production in May 2012 was directed by Sneha. However the insistence of Prabhu Solomon to reshoot the climax of
Kumki, led to the actor leaving
Sattam Oru Iruttarai during production and after a period of delay he was replaced by newcomer Thaman Kumar. Subsequently, he signed on to appear in
M. Saravanan's action thriller film
Ivan Veramathiri and portrayed the role of a student amongst an ensemble cast also featuring
Vamsi Krishna and
Ganesh Venkatraman. The film opened in December 2013 to positive reviews, with a critic noting that Vikram Prabhu "is convincing as an action hero, especially in the raw and realistic climax fight scene, but has to work on his dance a bit more." His first 2014 release was the action thriller
Arima Nambi, which was directed by
Anand Shankar, an assistant director to
A. R. Murugadoss. Later that year, he was seen in Gaurav's
Sigaram Thodu, a family action entertainer, which featured the actor in two distinct looks and alongside
Sathyaraj and
Monal Gajjar. He had a third release in 2014,
Vellaikaara Durai, directed by
Ezhil, that has
Sridivya in the cast. This released on Christmas 2014, which was a rom-com and was considered a hit. In 2015, his next movie was
Idhu Enna Maayam, a romantic comedy directed by
A. L. Vijay. "Despite his good performance, actor Vikram Prabhu looks extremely awkward and out of place as a college student; said Rediff.com's review.
2016–2018: Setback In July 2016, Vikram Prabhu launched a production house named "First Artist", under which he would produce future films. His next venture was an action film,
Wagah (2016). Sify described; "Vikram Prabhu is earnest in the film and tries hard to rise above a muddled script and poorly written dialogues". His next film was
Veera Sivaji (2016). Once again Vikram Prabhu is earnest with his performance but fail to rise above the severely flawed script. In 2017, the gangster thriller
Sathriyan was released. Performance wise, Vikram Prabhu is perfect as the angry young man. His body language and dialogue deliver aptly suit his characterization, easily Sathriyan is his comeback film as an actor. Vikram Prabhu has ventured into production through
Neruppu Da (2017), and their promotions promised to talk about the hardships and lifestyle of the firemen. After acting in action and serious subjects, Vikram Prabhu appears in a comedy role in his movie
Pakka (2018). Vikram Prabhu has played a dual role. The movie has
Nikki Galrani in the female lead with
Bindu Madhavi' s Tamil fame enacting an important character. Then he appeared in
Radha Mohan' s,
60 Vayadu Maaniram (2018) and action thriller
Thuppakki Munai (2018).
2020–present The next was a family ensemble cast led by veterans
R. Sarathkumar and
Radhika, in Dhana Sekaran's
Vaanam Kottatum (2020).
Mani Ratnam producing and also co-writing. Vikram Prabhu's mature and believable performance is complemented by
Aishwarya Rajesh. Then,
Asuraguru (2020) is a below average heist thriller. After, he starred in
Pulikkuthi Pandi (2021) and
Taanakkaran (2022). The 2 films were released in OTT and received positive reviews. Following this, he was cast in the 2 part multi-starter
Ponniyin Selvan: I (2022) and
Ponniyin Selvan: II (2023). Both were directed by Mani Ratnam and based on
Kalki's
eponymous novel. They ended up with positive reviews and commercial success. His next movie was
Paayum Oli Nee Yenakku (2023),
Irugapatru (2023) and
Raid (2023). Vikram Prabhu made his Telugu cinema debut with
Ghaati (2025), co-starring with
Anushka Shetty and directed by
Krish Jagarlamudi. ==Personal life==