She made her first screen appearance as an actor in the 1955 Kannada film Santa Sakhu and acted in over 100 Kannada films.
Randor Guy, a critic from The Hindu praised Ponvayal for its "interesting storyline, humorous dialogue by ATK and performances by Sarangapani, Manohar, Ramachandran, Mynavathi and Muthulakshmi," while concluding that the film would be "remembered for the interesting storyline, catchy music and dances by Susheela."