Malnad was born as G. R. Dattatreya in Malnad, Karnataka, India. He started his film career as an assistant director with the 1971 Telugu film Sampoorna Ramayanam, directed by Bapu. He later became an editor and made his debut as an editor with Bapu's Vamsa Vruksham (1980).
Malnad lived with his family in Chromepet, Chennai. He died at the age of 66 on 19 March 2018 at a private hospital in Chennai; he was admitted after he suffered a heart attack.