Born in 1956 and based in Chennai K Murlidharan completed his studies at the Government College of arts and crafts, Chennai in 1980 where his teachers Alphonso, Munuswamy, R.B.Bhaskaran and Santhanraj influenced him. He spent a year in Delhi there at the Lalit Kala Akademi he worked closely with reputed artists such as J.Swaminathan and Manjit Bawa. They gave him the confidence to develop his own language by trying out new methods. After his return to Chennai Murlidharan developed a “guru-shishya” relationship with K. Adimoolam. The senior artist helped him to question his roots, allowing him to delve deeper into his artistic psyche.

Murlidharan is one of a long line of distinguished artists who have displayed a keen interest in using text elements in painting.

In the year 1989 he was selected for participation in the festival of India in Sweden. Awarded the Charles Wallace Scholarship by the British Council in 1993, and received a research grant from the Lalit Kala Akademi and a cultural scholarship from the Government of India. Has also received awards from the Lalit Kala Akademi, Chennai and Orissa. His works are in the collection of the National Gallery of Modern Art, Delhi, the Lalit Kala Akademi, Chennai, Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal, and several private collections.