He began his career as a stage artiste in both professional and amateur theatre, before taking to films in 1977.
Followed by Nambidare Nambi Bittare Bidi directed by Umesh which introduced Shruthi and Hosamane Aliya with Anant Nag and Bhavya.
He then became a director with the children film Devara Makkalu that won lot of appreciation from critics.
Following this, in the same year, he directed Pathala Bhairavi, a children fantasy series consisting of 52 episodes, based on the 11th-century Kashmiri poet Kshemendra's work of the same.
Murthy served in the Survey Department under the Government of Karnataka, before entering films in 1977 with Hemavathi.