P. S. Vinothraj is from Madurai, Tamil Nadu. He dropped out of school when he was in class IV owing to poverty. To overcome financial difficulties at home, he became a child labourer at age eight and worked in a textile factory in Tiruppur until he turned 19. He then sold DVDs at a roadside shop in Chennai. During this time, he met a few people from the Tamil film Industry and eventually became assistant director to Mr. Sargunam, a Tamil filmmaker. He worked with him for almost four years on two film projects. He then worked as an assistant director for ‘Manal Magudi’, a post-modernistic theatre troupe established by Mr. Muruga Boopathy in Kovilpatti, Tamil Nadu. He utilised his time during this venture to shoot a few short films. Koozhangal (Pebbles), his debut feature, was inspired by his personal life.