Tatineni started his work in the film industry in the late 1950s as the assistant director of his cousin T. Prakash Rao and Kotayya Pratyagatma, before making his directorial debut with 1966 Telugu film Navarathri.
Tatineni memulai karyanya dalam industri film pada akhir 1950an sebagai asisten sutradara dari sepupunya T. Prakash Rao dan Kotayya Pratyagatma, sebelum membuat debut penyutradaraan dengan film Telugu 1966 Navarathri.