Holding citizenship in Sri Lanka, Rishi Selvam was born and brought up in Muscat, Oman and moved back to Sri Lanka after graduating from high school to become an engineer. He has developed an interest in short films and photography since high school, which led him to working as a full-time cinematographer right after his graduation. He also worked as an assistant director in advertising. With The Hunter (2018), he was awarded the Audience Choice Award at the Jaffna International Cinema Festival.