Born in Thiruvananthapuram the capital of Kerala state, K.S.Chitra, with her
melodious voice, has built a formidable reputation as a playback singer for
South Indian as well as Hindi films. She has to her credit, over 11,000 songs
in languages like Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, Bengali and Oriya.
From her young age she learned the basics in music from her father, late
Krishnan Nair who was a singer and composer of repute. The gifted singer learned
music at the graduate and post-graduate levels and completed her B A in music
with the third rank from the university. She went on to complete her MA in
music from Kerala University, for which she was chosen under the aegis of
the National Talent Search Scholarship programme and was trained by Professor
K.Omanakutty.
Ms Chitra got a chance in films when Prof. K.Omanakutty introduced her to
her brother Mr. M.G.Radhakrishnan, a famous music director in Malayalam film
industry. Her first songs were for the films like 'Attahaasam', 'Snehapoorvam
Meera', and 'Njaan Ekananu' and from then on there was no looking back. Her
expressive melodious voice got her plenty of offers and she was soon making
a mark in Malayalam films to the extent that she has today monopolised Malayalam
film music. Ilayaraja gave her the big break into Tamil films through his
film 'Nee Thaanaa Antha Kuyil' but it was with 'Sindhu Bhairavi' she became
a known name in Tamil industry which also won her the National Award for best
playback singer. Ms Chitra's foray into Hindi film music was with the song
'Saathiya, ye tune kya kiya' in the film 'Love'. Some of the Hindi films that
she has given hit songs are 'Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya', 'Aks', 'Ashoka', 'Rangeela'
etc. She is one singer who has successfully broken the North-South divide
and blazed a trail of glory in both worlds.
She has won the National Award for the best playback singer five times. For
' Sindhu Bhairavi' (Tamil, 1986),' Nakhashatangal' (Malayalam, 1987), ' Vaishali'
( Malayalam, 1989 ), Minsara Kanavu ( Tamil, 1996 ), Virasat (Hindi, 1997).
The Kerala government has heaped upon her the best playback singer award
more than 12 times and she has the unique distinction of being the first female
singer in the history of South Indian film playback singing to be honoured
by all the four southern state governments as the best playback singer.
Chitra who has a strong base in classical music has an ability to pick up
even the most difficult pitch with ease. Ms Chitra has many albums especially
devotional music to her credit. She has also tried her hand in pop music and
made an album with the 'Voodoo Rapper'. Her hugely successful albums include
'Piya Basanti'; her collaboration with sarangi exponent Ustad Sultan Khan,
'Sunset Point', where she worked with Gulzar and Bhupinder. She has had the
opportunities to work with famous music directors like Salil Choudhary, Anu
Malik, Nadeem-Shravan and world renowned music maestro A R Rahman. But she
remains her simple down to earth self with the trademark pleasant smile. This
immensely talented singer continues to impress her numerous fans with memorable
songs.