 He ventured into Tamil cinema in 1996 with the blockbuster "Indian", which was India's Official Entry for the Best Foreign Language Film for the Academy Awards.He then produced films such as "Kushi", "Run", "Boys", "Enakku 20 Unakku 18", "Dhool", "Ghilli", "7G Rainbow Colony", "Arrambam", "Bangaram", "Yennai Arindhaal" and "Vedalam".Rathnam was born in Buchireddypalem of Nellore district in Andhra Pradesh.