He made his directorial debut with "Vamsha Vriksha" (1971), based on a Kannada novel by S. L. Bhyrappa. It won him National Film Award for Best Direction along with B. V. Karanth, who co-directed the film. Later, Karnad directed several movies in Kannada and Hindi, including "Godhuli" (1977) and "Utsav" (1984). Karnad has made number of documentaries, like one on the Kannada poet D. R. Bendre (1972), "Kanaka-Purandara" (English, 1988) on two medieval Bhakti poets of Karnataka, Kanaka Dasa and Purandara Dasa, and "The Lamp in the Niche" (English, 1989) on Sufism and the Bhakti movement. Many of his films and documentaries have won several national and international awards.