Career
In the 2000s, he has also featured as an actor in films and television He also served as a press relations officer for Tamil films during the 1980s, and later reprised that role as an actor through Uttama Villain (2015). His first directorial venture was Soora Samhaaram (1988) with Kamal Hassan and later he directed Periya Thambi (1997) with Prabhu and Chinna Raja (1999) with Karthik in the lead role.
He turned actor in Japanil Kalyanaraman (1985) and began to prioritise acting commitments in the 2000s, winning acclaim for his comedy roles in Boss Engira Bhaskaran (2010) and Theeya Velai Seiyyanum Kumaru (2013).
Throughout his career, Lakshmanan has also taken up posts of responsibility. He served as the Secretary of Tamil Film s Council for four years and as an executive committee member in South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce, Film Federation of India, and Tamil Film s Association for several years.
In 2011, he published the book 80 Years of Tamil Cinema, an account documenting the history of Tamil cinema.