Ram, completed his Bachelor of Arts in
American College in Madurai, while he was pursuing a
Master of Arts postgraduate degree in
Tamil literature at the
Madras Christian College, began writing
short stories in Tamil language. He worked with director
Thangar Bachan in a few films, then Thangar Bachan recommended Ram to meet Hindi film director
Rajkumar Santoshi. Since he was unaware about
Hindi films, and Rajkumar Santoshi, he was initially reluctant, but eventually decided to meet him and joined him as a
script writer, travelling to
Mumbai subsequently. and helped him in shaping the story of Lajja. which was later changed to
Kattradhu Thamizh to get exempted from the entertainment taxation. The film revolves around a young man, who gets into trouble because of his education, quoting that it would show the "pathetic state of our mother tongue
Tamil in today's society". however she was later replaced by
Anjali, who debuted in Tamil cinema with this film. The film was shot for nearly a year across
Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh,
Kerala and
Chennai, and gained high anticipation in its finishing stage, mainly due to Jeeva's looks in the promotional stills, and Ram's controversial statements at the film's soundtrack release.
Kattradhu Thamizh followed the journey of a lower middle class post-graduate degree holder in
Tamil literature, who struggles to find a job and gradually turns a
sociopath, frustrated by the
inequality in the
social stratification. Following its release in October 2007, the film received high critical praise, becoming termed as a "cult classic".
Behindwoods in its review called the film a "
kurinji flower in Indian cinema", citing that "once in a while a movie re-writes Tamil cinema history" and that
Kattradhu Thamizh was "one such precious gem", further adding that Ram deserved a "standing ovation for not bowing down to commercial format and sticking to his theme with strong conviction". Ram denied that the film was his autobiography, clarifying that, unlike the protagonist in the film, he went on to work as a
media consultant and that the film was an autobiography of a fictional character named Prabhakar. The project was shelved and Ram took a
sabbatical, beginning to pen a new story titled
Thanga Meenkal instead. By mid-2009, Touch Stone agreed to produce the film, with Karunas being signed to play the lead role, however the studio opted out the following year after facing financial troubles. which he agreed to after shooting rehearsal scenes with cinematographer P. G. Muthiah and being "thoroughly convinced".
Thanga Meenkal discusses how a common man's life is twisted and turned by globalization and today's educational system. winning three
National Film Awards including the
Best Tamil Feature Film Award and three awards at the
Chennai International Film Festival. It was also screened in the International Children's Film Festival, India in the Children's World section which screens the finest movies of the last decade, and was the only Tamil film selected to Indian Panorama in
IFFI, Goa. In 2014, Ram started filming his next project
Taramani that deals with contemporary relationships. The movie was released on 11 August 2017 garnering rave reviews from both audiences and critics and becoming a box-office hit. The movie was a box office hit and was re-released later.
Taramani was also screened at the
International film festival Rotterdam in their House on Fire section. In 2016, Ram started shooting for the next film titled
Peranbu starring
Mammootty and
Thanga Meengal fame, Sadhana. The movie had its world premiere at
47th International film festival Rotterdam. It was recommended as one of must watch 20 films at IFFR 2018 by VPRO, a Netherlands-based leading publication company. Peranbu was nominated for the NETPAC Award and also for the Audience award. The film secured 20th position based on the voting of the audience among 187 films competing for the Audience Award category at IFFR 2018. It was the only Indian film to be in the top 20 in the Audience Award category at Rotterdam.
Peranbu was officially selected for and will have its Asian premiere at the 21st Shanghai International Film Festival 2018. The movie is slotted to release in August 2018. Ram was also part of a panel discussion at
International film festival Rotterdam on Tamil cinema. After recently having its screening at the famed Rotterdam and Moscow Film Festivals, critically-acclaimed director Ram's upcoming film
Yezhu Kadal Yezhu Malai (2024), starring
Nivin Pauly,
Anjali and
Soori in primary roles, has been selected to be screened at the Transilvania Film Festival. He later on directed
Paranthu Po (2025). == Filmography ==