Kannan, a renowned filmmaker, made a striking entrance into the Tamil film industry by directing the horror film "Yaar?" in 1985, which served as a launchpad for the career of actor Arjun. The film's resounding success prompted the director to adopt the title as a prefix, and he subsequently went on to create a series of films in the late 1980s in collaboration with Ramarajan, including "Namma Ooru Nayagan" (1988),"Anbu Kattalai" (1989),and "Kaavalan" (1990).
After a hiatus, Kannan returned to the scene with "Yuga" (2006),a low-budget science-fiction film featuring Richard, 'Ice' Ashok, and Manikandan. Produced by a collective of fifty-eight financiers, the film received scathing reviews and struggled to make an impact at the box office. He then took on the role of supervisor for the Tamil version of the Telugu film "Punnami Naagu," which was released as "Pournami Naagam" in 2010. Despite being partially dubbed and partially re-shot, the film failed to replicate the success of the original Telugu version.
In 2010, Kannan envisioned a fantasy trilingual film titled "Piravi" starring Master Vinay, but unfortunately, the project did not come to fruition. Throughout his career, Kannan has mentored several aspiring directors, including Azhagan Selva of "Azhagu Magan," Suriya Nithi of "Vilambaram," and actor Maruthi of "Marumunai."
In the 2010s, Kannan has made appearances as an actor in films, collaborating with directors Prabhu Solomon on two occasions and Ponram on the film "Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam."
