rao's play "bhukailasa" was thrice made into films; in 1938 and 1940 by sundar rao nadkarni, and in 1958 by k. shankar. it was in this play that rajkumar, who would go on to become one of kannada cinema's finest actors, made his breakthrough as a theatre actor, playing the role of narada. in 1951, rao formed his own film production company, rnr pictures. the 1957 film "premada putri" was produced under this banner and rao directed it, also playing a supporting role in the film. at the 5th national film awards, the film was awarded the best feature film in kannada. the production company existed till 1964. following this, he appeared in the roles of a father in films such as "shri kannika parameshwari kathe" (1966) and "karulina kare" (1970). for his role in his 1968 film "hannele chiguridaga", that co-stars rajkumar, he won the karnataka state film award for best actor. his last appearance came in the 1974 film "professor huchuraya".