Tanikella did stage plays in the mid 1970s and during this time he made the acquaintance of
Rallapalli, a
Telugu cinema actor. With his help Tanikella started writing small dialogues and stage scenes. Later, he took a diploma in Theatre arts. Following Rallapalli's advice he moved to
Chennai. He started his career as a dialogue writer for
Kanchu Kavachum in 1984 and has written dialogues for various movies like
Ladies Tailor (1985),
Sri Kanaka Mahalakshmi Recording Dance Troupe (1987),
Varasudochhadu (1988),
Chettu Kinda Pleader (1989),
Swara Kalpana (1989),
Siva (1989) and
Seenu Vasanthi Lakshmi (2004). He also penned and sung the lyrics of
Gundamma Gaari Manavadu (Bhale Bhaleti Mandu). He has acted in more than 750 movies starting with
Ladies Tailor (1985) and
Sri Kanaka Mahalakshmi Recording Dance Troupe (1987) in which he was seen as Dora Babu. In 1989 he appeared in the hit film
Siva, by
Ram Gopal Varma, which starred
Nagarjuna. With the release of the film
Shiva, he received much recognition for his character Nanaji. He also played a supporting role in the comedy film
Bombay Priyudu in 1996. His powerful antagonism in
Samudram won him the
Nandi award as the Best Villain. After 2000, he started playing more mature roles in movies like
Manmadhudu (2002),
Okariki Okaru (2003),
Samba (2004),
Malliswari,
Godavari (2006), and
Happy (2006). He directed the
drama film Mithunam is a 2012 featuring
S. P. Balasubrahmanyam and
Lakshmi. He received
CineMAA Award Special Jury Award for Best Direction for this film. He wrote seven
Telugu devotional songs for the album "
Nee Lona Shivudu Galudu, Na Lona Shivudu Galadu," literally translating as "The Lord Shiva in you and the Lord Shiva in me can rule the world." He also sang the title song for Nalona sivudu galadu and Shahabash Raa Shankara which were written by him. == Filmography ==