Venkat Prabhu is the son of director and music director Gangai Amaran. Venkat Prabhu started his career as a singer in the film industry and later became an actor, acting in character roles rather than in the lead. He hogged the spotlight for the first time when he turned director with the summer hit Chennai 600028, after which he directed the comedy thriller film Saroja. This proved to be a successful box-office hit. He followed it up with Goa, which was appreciated for its entertaining and fresh storyline and was a box office hit. He is filming Mankatha with Ajith Kumar along with an ensemble cast. As a lead hero, he acted in a film called Poonjolai directed by his father in 1997 but the film was never released. He also acted in Agathiyan's Kadhal Samrajyam, which featured him in one of the lead roles and remains unreleased as well.