As actor He ran away from his village at the age of 13 due to his father's scoldings. He first worked in an oil mart, then in a private wine shop as a waiter and then ended up in drama where he started developing his skills. He made his debut with
Oru Koyil Iru Dheepangal (1979) though officially his first film was
Ithikkara Pakki, which was released in 1980. In an interview, Senthil said that he has acted in several films when he was younger in uncredited roles. He slowly entered the Tamil film industry in small characters and finally landed a good role in the film
Malaiyoor Mambattiyan. He has acted in many popular films with several of the leading actors and comedians in the south Indian cine industry. He usually appears in films with
Goundamani in a
slapstick double act. They formed a
comic pair in many
Tamil films.
Politics Initially campaigning for
AIADMK, Senthil is currently campaigning for
AMMK party. Former minister Gokula Indira was replaced in the post of organising secretary by Senthil, appointed by
T. T. V. Dhinakaran in
AIADMK in 2017. Later, he joined TTV Dinakaran's
Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam political party. In September 2019, Senthil, Kathirkamu, Raja Manickam, Devadas and Henry Thomas were announced as the five organisation secretaries of AMMK party. He joined
Bharatiya Janata Party, just before the 2021 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. == Filmography ==