H.M. Reddy was a former assistant to Ardeshir M. Irani, the first talkie film maker (Alam Ara) in India. Reddy, one of the veterans of Indian cinema, has the distinction of directing the first talking pictures in Tamil (Kalidas in 1931) and Telugu (Bhaktha Prahaladha in 1931). He began his career in silent films in Bangalore with Surya Films and later shifted to Bombay and assisted Irani. He then directed movies in Hindi before shifting to Madras. He produced successful Telugu movies such as Tenali Ramakrishna (1941), Gruha Lakshmi (1938) and Partigna (1953). He introduced Chittoor V. Nagaiah and other artistes to the film industry.
In a career spanning 23 years, he produced 3 films in Telugu and directed 19 films. Of them, only 3 films were in Tamil (Kalidas in 1931, Mathruboomi in 1939 and Niraparadhi in 1951). The remaining films were in Telugu.