Thakur was born in 1923 in Phonda near Kolhapur, Maharashtra. He started his film career as assistant to Master Vinayak and Raja Paranjape and directed various films in the 1960s based on storylines of middle-class Maharashtrian people. This genre was a repeated feature in directorial works of Thakur and Rajdutt, who dominated the industry then before the comedies of Dada Kondke became popular in the 1970s. He also produced films under his banner "Nav Chitra".

The 1955 released social film Me Tulas Tujhya Angani was produced under his banner Nav Chitra and had Hindustani classical music-based songs sung by Bhimsen Joshi. The film won the President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film at the 3rd National Film Awards. In continuation to the film adaptations of works written by Damuanna Malvankar and V. S. Jog which Master Vinayak made, Thakur directed the 1957 comedy Gharcha Jhala Thoda.

The 1962 Rangalya Ratree Ashya was a musical film based on the story written by author Ranjit Desai and starring Arun Sarnaik as a talented drummer who falls in love with a courtesan. The film won Thakur another President's Silver Medal at the 10th National Film Awards. Starring Kashinath Ghanekar, Thakur bagged his third National Film Award for Ektee (1968) at the 16th National Film Awards.

The 1970s directorial venture Mumbaicha Jawai was depiction of cosmopolitan Mumbai and how a newly married couple embrace the social values while living in the crowded chawl. The film was also released in Soviet Union and was later adapted into a Hindi film by Basu Chatterjee as Piya Ka Ghar. The film brought the fourth National Film Award presented at the 18th National Film Awards and also the "Best Film" award at the Maharashtra State Film Awards. He went on to bag the Maharashtra State Film Award, presented by the State Government of Maharashtra, consecutively for the next two years for Gharkul (1971) and Jawai Vikat Ghene Aahe (1972).

In 1975 Thakur directed his first Hindi film Zakhmee. Produced by Tahir Hussain, the film had a star cast of Sunil Dutt, Rakesh Roshan and Asha Parekh. In 1976 his another Hindi film Raeeszada was released. Produced by V. L. Khare, the film starred Vikram, Zarina Wahab, Rakesh Roshan, Shriram Lagoo and Helen. In 1972 he had also directed an English film Birbal My Brother.^[3]

Thakur directed following films:^[3]

Thakur's four directorial ventures won the National Film Award in the Best Feature Film in Marathi category. He made a hatrick by winning the Maharashtra State Film Awards in Best Film category from 1970 to 1972 and is the only director to do so.^[6] In 2013, the Marathi-weekly magazine Lokprabha of the Indian Express Group included Me Tulas Tujhya Angani and Mumbaicha Jawai in their "Must Watch 40 Marathi Films" list.^[4]