Vishnuvardhan was born in Kumbakonam as the eldest son to Kulasekaran. His younger brother is actor Krishna Sekhar. Vishnuvardhan graduated from Chennai and was a visual communication student who studied at the Loyola College at Chennai. As a child, Vishnu had also done small roles in Mani Ratnam's Anjali and later on during his teenage years, continued to do brief roles in films like The Terrorist, Fiza, Malli and Asoka.