In a career spanning over four decades, late actor Kashinath had made his mark in the Hindi and Malayalam film industries, however, he is best remembered for his work in primarily Kannada movies. An actor and filmmaker, Kashinath started his career in 1976 by directing the comedy-drama Aparoopada Athithigalu, which he also co-produced. His next outing as a director was the suspense thriller Aparichita in 1978, which was well-received by the audience and also won him widespread recognition as a director.

He then debuted as an actor in 1982 with the Ramdas Naidu-directed Amara Madhura Prema, after which he cast himself in the lead for his next directorial venture Anubhava, which was widely appreciated and was considered way ahead of its time. The veteran artist has movies like Avale Nanna Hendthi, Avane Nanna Ganda, Kaliyuga Krishna, Love Training, Hendathi Endare Heegirabeku, Super Aliya, 12AM Madhyarathri, and Zoom, Chowka.

In 2017, Kashinath was diagnosed with Hodgkin`s lymphoma and was admitted to the Sri Shankara Cancer Hospital in 2018. Two days after being admitted to the hospital, the actor passed away on the 18th January 2018 from a cardiac arrest. His last movie, Olu Munsami was released posthumously in 2018.