Mysore Venkatappa Subbaiya Naidu was a Kannada film actor-director as well as a theater personality. He was born in a poor family of Madapura, Mysore district. Mysore Venkatappa Subbaiya Naidu minded cattle and worked in a grocery shop. At a very young age he came to Mysore, practiced wrestling, then learnt music and acting from the famous star M. V. Mandappa. As a child actor in Kannada theatre, Mysore Venkatappa Subbaiya Naidu did small parts for Shakuntala Company in Mysore, and many women`s roles for Sitarama Manohara Nataka Mandali in Tumkur and Bharata Janamanollasini Company in Channapatna in Bangalore district.

Mysore Venkatappa Subbaiya Naidu became famous for female impersonation in the Gubbi Company during 1926-7. The heroic characters of Vikranta in Rajabhakti or `Devotion to the Raja`, Tirumala Raya in Karnataka samrajya or `Karnataka Empire`, and Shivaji in Swaminishthe or `Fidelity to the Master` brought him popularity. Along with R Nagendra Ra, Mysore Venkatappa Subbaiya Naidu started his own Sahitya Samrajya Nataka Mandali in 1932. Their productions, especially Bhukailasa and Vasantasena became very successful. Both were filmed in the year 1940 and 1941 respectively. The company traveled widely in southern India. Naidu`s bold cinematic experiments in production and adoption of modern stage setting were remarkable for their sensational lighting and scenic effects, using cycloramas, trick scenes, and dimmers. Mysore Venkatappa Subbaiya Naidu acted in the silent movie His Love Affair in 1931 directed by Gubbi Veeranna, was hero of the first Kannada talkie, Sati Sulochana in 1934 filmed from his own production, and co-directed Bhakta Prahlada in 1958 was also cinematized from his stage hit.