One of the most successful writers and directors of Malayalam cinema, Rafi directs his movies together with Mecartin and duo have been making films since 1996. Rafi, however, began his career in 1991 as an assistant director to another director duo Siddique-Lal for the movie Godfather (1991). In the following year, he made his writing debut with the movie Ellarum Chollanu (1992). For the next few years, Rafi worked as a writer on movies such as Mr & Mrs (1992), Aniyan Bava Chetan Bava (1995), and Aadyathe Kanmani (1995).

It was in 1996 that Rafi together with Mecartin made his directorial debut with the movie Puthukottyile Puthu Manavalan. The movie went on to become a super hit at the box office and since then the director duo has delivered blockbuster hits one after the other. Few of their movie credits include Superman (1998), Thenkasipattanam (2000), Chathikkatha Chanthi (2004), Hallo (2007), and China Town (2011). While Rafi directed movies with Mecartin he continued working as a writer as well. His 2017 release includes the movie Role Models which he has directed independently.