 Karuppu was introduced as an actor by director Bala in "Pithamagan" (2003) as a person who works in the ganja plantations.As a result of the role, he was thereafter credited in films as Ganja Karuppu.In the 2000s, he subsequently was regularly cast in rural films by directors, working on notable films including Ameer's "Raam" (2005) and "Paruthiveeran" (2007), Sasikumar's "Subramaniapuram" (2008), Samuthirakani's "Naadodigal" (2009) and Sargunam's "Kalavani" (2010).