Prabhakar Reddy debuted in the film Chivaraku Migiledi, directed by Gutta Ramineedu, in 1960, in which he acted as a psychiatrist. He acted in about 472 films during the next three decades.
He wrote stories for about 21 Telugu films. Some of them were highly successful. They include Pandanti Kapuram, Pacchani Samsaram, Dharmatmudu, Grihapravesam, Gandhi Puttina Desam, Karthika Deepam and Naaku Swatantram Vacchindi. He wrote and directed the film Comrade (1996), which featured lyrics by K. G. Satyamurthy and Masterji.
He gave the stage name for famous Telugu actress Jayaprada, originally Lalitha Rani, and introduced her in a three-minute song in the Telugu film Bhoomi Kosam in 1976.