Bala was born and brought up in the South Indian town Vijayawada. While still in college, Bala started his artistic career as a Mimicry Artist (stand-up) in a magician's team. Bala has an MFA (Screenwriting) from the University of California-Riverside, an MA (Theater & Cinema) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an MA (Theatre Arts) from the University of Hyderabad, India. Bala founded 160-H Productions-Hollywood, which produces films and undertakes co-productions with foreign companies in North America. Bala has 20 years of teaching experience in the areas of theater and cinema in USA & India. Bala has been serving as the Dean of Academics at the Annapurna International School of Film & Media, Hyderabad since 2016. He divides his time between United States & India, actively undertaking film production & academic work.