	Rao began his career as an actor in theatre, performing in plays written in the Kannada language at the age of eight. As a child, he portrayed mythological female characters such as Sita, Chandramathi and Desdemona. He then switched to male roles, his work proving popular in the erstwhile Kingdom of Mysore and the non-Kannada speaking Madras Presidency. In theatre, he worked with A. V. Varadacharya's Ratnavali Drama Company and Chamundeshwari company, in Mysore.