In an era dominated by mythological and fantasy genres, Subba Rao was a trailblazer in introducing social dramas and contemporary narratives to Telugu cinema.

[1] Subba Rao began his cinematic career as an associate to Uday Shankar in the 1948 Hindi film Kalpana.

[2] He made his directorial debut with Amara Sandesam (1954), a film that, although critically acclaimed, did not achieve commercial success.

[5] Other notable films, such as Velugu Needalu (1961), Manchi Manasulu (1962), and Doctor Chakravarthy (1964) further solidified his reputation as a leading filmmaker.

[6] His 1965 film Thene Manasulu, made with a cast of newcomers, became a runaway success, marking Krishna's first lead role and introducing Ram Mohan to Telugu cinema.

K. Viswanath, who would later become a celebrated filmmaker, worked as an associate director under Subba Rao before making his own directorial debut.

[9] Adurthi Subba Rao was born to Sathanna Panthulu and Rajalakshmamma on 16 December 1912 in Rajahmundry.

[3] Subba Rao debuted as a director with Amara Sandesam (1954) which was critically acclaimed but not commercially successful.

Subba Rao adapted Mangalya Balam to the Telugu screen from the Bengali film Agni Pariksha (1954), The Telugu version was simultaneously shot in Tamil as Manjal Mahimai; both versions became box office successes.

Kumudham was released on 29 July 1961 with final reel length of 4,501 metres (14,767 ft) and became a commercial success at box office.

[13] In 1968, Subba Rao experimented with courtroom drama and detective fiction in his work Sudigundalu.

The Telugu film chamber of commerce has instituted the Adurthi Subba Rao Award in his honour.