As a director

He directed his first film OK saar OK in 2003 and went on to direct ten more Kannada films including the hits like Baa Baaro Rasika,^[7]Circus ,Masala, Sri Harikathe and 'Haggadha Kone'. His another film was Circus starring Ganesh.^[8][9] He has also starred in Gaalipata where he played a mute character called "Dracula". His movie "Haggada kone" released to rave reviews.^[10] His rom-com titled Satya Harishchandra. He ventured into commercial filmmaking zone after a long time with this movie. Sharan is played the lead in the movie. His latest release was the critically and commercially successful Aa Karaala Ratri starring Jayaram Karthik and Anupama Gowda. The two completed films are Tryambakam and Ranganayaki. The film is which was supposed to be released in June 2020, has been delayed due to the pandemic. Dayal then moved on to his debut Telugu directorial, "Anaganaga O Athithi, a remake of his 2018 hit Aa Karala Ratri. The Telugu version was a straight to OTT release and was premiered in AHA ott platform.^[11]

As a producer

He also turned to production with this film where he was the executive producer. He has also produced Circus^[12] and Co produced Shriharikathe under his own production house D Pictures.^[13] He is the Producer for the under production project Ondu Rupayalli Eradu Preethi. He is the producer for the films Circus and Yogaraj. He Co-produced the film Shriharikathe,. All the above projects were executed under his own production house D Pictures.

He believes the turning point of his film career came with the movie Gaalipata. His movie Yogaraj But,starring Naveena Krishna & Neethu which released mid-2011. The movie released to positive critical response in Rediff, IBN,ChitralokaA,Times of India and others, with critics rating the movie 3 to 4 stars. After the reception, Dayal boldly quoted " Once again i have made a movie that was appreciated but not a hit".^[14] Dayal padmanabhan also worked as an executive producer for the Tamil movie Brahman starring Sasikumar.

As a distributor

Film Awards

Dayal filed a petition against a prestigious film award for not nominating his film even after it had received widespread critical acclaim. His petition was accepted by Bangalore City civil court and the organizers/Jury were ordered to add nominations for his movie on four different categories, Best Actor (Male), Best Director, Best Film, Best Supporting Actor (male).^[15]

Petition Against Multiplexes

The Karnataka state budget 2016 - 2017 was scheduled to be proposed on 18 March. Ahead of this major event Dayal padmanabhan started a petition requesting the state government to cap the movie ticket prices to 120 Rs at multiplexes in the state.

He explained his intentions behind this petition."Multiplexes in Karnataka price the ticket based on the demand and profit margins. This reduces the occupancy rate. On an average, a cinema hall records only 46% occupancy even for a high profile film as the price is set at a higher range (It can go up to 800 INR). My idea is to reduce the pricing and increase the occupancy. More the patrons, more the patronage. Only this can make the industry healthier."

His Petition went viral and was signed by thousands of people across karnataka.^[16]

Complaint against Anup Sa Ra Govind

Dayal Padmanabhan, who is an active producer-director, had pointed out flaws in the 2019 elections at the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce. He contested on the appointment of Anuup Sara Govindu as a member and says it breaks the rules. He wrote a complaint letter to the District Registrar of Societies. Dayal argued that Mr. Anup Gowda failed to meet the eligibility to even contest in the elections as per the bylaws of KFCC.^[17]

Petition Against National Film awards

Dayal Padmanabhan filed a petition with the Karnataka high court against the National Film awards stating that one of the members of the jury was affiliated to film nominated for the awards and, as per regulations, a jury member or chairman should not be associated in any manner to the films submitted for awards.^[18]