He exhibited his singing talent during a Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations in front of carnatic vocalist Musiri Subramania Iyer and the then Maharaja of Mysore, Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV.

He then appeared in films after a span of 10 years, in 1953 with Mangala Gowri, Kanyadana and Kokilavani which marked his debut as a lead actor.

He also worked as an assistant to well known lyricist and director Kanagal Prabhakara Shastry and learnt the art of writing poems.

As filmmaking was less during the 1950s, Krishnamurthy slowly shifted his base to theatre and worked for some of the very famous stage companies of that time.

Following this and with roles in films in the 1970s and '80s like Dharmasere, Ranganayaki, Guru Shishyaru, Antha, Nanna Devaru, Haalu Jenu and Kaviratna Kalidasa, Krishnamurthy became one of Kannada cinema's most wanted actors.