Krishnan Nair Shantakumari Chithra (born 27 July 1963), always credited as K. S. Chithra or Chithra, is an Indian playback singer and Carnatic musician. In a career spanning over four decades, she has recorded over 25,000 songs in various Indian languages, as well as

foreign languages A foreign language is a language that is not an official language of, nor typically spoken in, a given country, and that native speakers from that country must usually acquire through conscious learning - be this through language lessons at sch ...

such as Malay, Latin, Arabic, Sinhalese, English and French. She is also known for her extensive history of collaboration with music composers like A. R. Rahman,

Ilaiyaraja Ilaiyaraaja (born R. Gnanathesikan, 3 June 1943) is an Indian musician, composer, arranger, conductor, orchestrator, instrumentalist, lyricist and singer, popular for his works in Indian Cinema, prominently in Tamil films. Reputed to be one ...

Hamsalekha Gangaraju (born June 23, 1951), professionally known as Hamsalekha, is an Indian film composer and a songwriter who works in South Indian cinema, predominantly in the Kannada film industry since the late 1980s. He is also a screenplay writer, di ...

, M. M. Keeravani and with the playback singers K. J. Yesudas and

S. P. Balasubrahmanyam Sripathi Panditaradhyula Balasubrahmanyam (4 June 1946 – 25 September 2020), also referred to as SPB or SP Balu or Balu, was an Indian playback singer, television presenter, actor, music composer, dubbing artist, and film producer. He is wi ...

over the years. She is regarded as a cultural icon of South Indian states. Chithra is a recipient of six National Film Awards, nine Filmfare Awards South and 36 different state film awards from six states of India such as 16 Kerala State Film Awards, 11 Andhra Pradesh State Film Awards, 4

Tamil Nadu State Film Awards Tamil Nadu State Film Awards were given for excellence in Tamil cinema in India. They were given annually to honour the best talents and provide encouragement and incentive to the South Indian film industry by the Government of Tamil Nadu. The aw ...

, 3 Karnataka State Film Awards, 1

Orissa State Film Awards The Odisha State Film Awards have been conferred by the Department of Culture of the Government of Odisha, India. The awards were initiated in 1968. The awards are decided by independent juries formed by the Department of Culture. The jury ...

, 1 West Bengal State Film Awards. She was awarded India's third-highest civilian honours

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

in 2021 and

Padma Shri Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conf ...

in 2005 for her valuable contributions towards the Indian musical fraternity. She is the first Indian woman to be honoured by

British Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprem ...

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. She was honoured with the

Rashtrapati Award Rashtrapati Awards used to be given by the President of India, in some cases the Prime Minister of India, for achievements in the field of sports, art, military, literature, cinema, culture, science and technology, or Scouting. The award-givin ...

for “First Ladies” in the field of music felicitated by the Ministry of Women and Child Development at the

Rashtrapati Bhavan The Rashtrapati Bhavan (, rāsh-truh-puh-ti bha-vun; ; originally Viceroy's House and later Government House) is the official residence of the President of India at the western end of Rajpath, Raisina Hill, New Delhi, India. Rashtrapati Bh ...

on 20 January 2018.

Early life

Chithra received her training in

Carnatic music Carnatic music, known as or in the South Indian languages, is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and Sri Lanka. It is ...

from K. Omanakutty, passed B.A. in music with first class and third rank from the

University of Kerala University of Kerala, formerly the University of Travancore, is a state-run public university located in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital of Kerala, India. It was established in 1937 by a promulgation of the Maharajah of Travancore, Chit ...

, and completed a master's degree in music. She was selected to the National Talent Search Scholarship from the Central Government from 1978 to 1984.

Playback singing

Malayalam cinema

K. S. Chithra was introduced to

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...

playback by M. G. Radhakrishnan in 1979 who recorded her voice for films and private albums. ''Attahasam'', ''Snehapoorvam Meera'' and ''

Njan Ekananu ''Njan Ekananu'' is a 1982 Indian Malayalam-language film, directed by P. Chandrakumar and produced by Madhu. The film stars Madhu, R. Dilip, Poornima Jayaram and Sukumari in the lead roles. The film has musical score by M. G. Radhakrishnan. C ...

'' were the first few films in which she recorded her voice. She also performed live concerts with K. J. Yesudas in India and abroad. The song "Manjal Prasadavum" from the film ''

Nakhakshathangal ''Nakhakshathangal'' () is a 1986 Indian Malayalam-language film directed by Hariharan, written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair and starring Monisha, Vineeth and Saleema. Monisha, won the National Film Award for Best Actress for her role, making her ...

'' (1986) composed by Bombay Ravi got her the second

National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer The National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer is an honour presented annually at the National Film Awards of India since 1968 to a female playback singer for the best renditions of songs from soundtracks within the Indian film industr ...

. For the same composer, she sang the song "Indupushpam Choodi Nilkum" for the film '' Vaishali'' (1989) and won her third National Film Award. Her first Kerala State Film Award for Best Singer was for the song "Aayiram Kannumayi" from the film '' Nokkethadhoorathu Kannum Nattu'' (1986) composed by Jerry Amaldev. Since then, she has earned wide recognition by singing popular songs under the compositions of

Raveendran Madhavan Raveendran ( ml, മാധവൻ രവീന്ദ്രൻ ), (born Kulathupuzha, Kollam, 9 November 1943 – died Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 3 March 2005), fondly known as ''Raveendran Master'', was a popular South Indian music composer a ...

, Shyam, S. P. Venkitesh,

Mohan Sithara Mohan Sithara is an Indian music composer. He received the Kerala State Film Award for the Best Music Director (2009) for the songs in Priyanandan's ''Soofi Paranja Kadha''. Since 1986 he has been an active musician in the Malayalam film indust ...

,Salil Chowdary,

Kannur Rajan Kannur Rajan (24 June 1940 – 7 April 1995) was a music composer from Kerala, India. Though his songs are less in numbers, they are noted as emotional and nostalgic in the Malayalam film songs. He was the father-in-law of currently famous m ...

, Ilaiyaraaja,

Johnson Johnson is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin meaning "Son of John". It is the second most common in the United States and 154th most common in the world. As a common family name in Scotland, Johnson is occasionally a variation of ''Johnston'', a ...

Ouseppachan Mechery Louis Ouseppachan (born 13 September 1955), known mononymously as Ouseppachan, is an Indian film composer and singer who primarily works in Malayalam films. He is a recipient of National Film Award, Filmfare Award and Kerala State ...

, M. K. Arjunan, A. T. Ummer,

Berny Ignatius Berny is a given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Bernard. It may refer to: * Bernardina Berny Boxem-Lenferink (born 1948), Dutch retired middle-distance runner * Berny Burke (born 1996), Costa Rican footballer * Bernabé Berny Peña ...

, M. B. Sreenivasan,

, Vidyasagar,

Ramesh Narayan Ramesh Narayan (born 3 November 1959) is an Indian classical vocalist, composer and music producer who works predominantly in Malayalam cinema. He belongs to the Mewati gharana of Hindustani classical music. Narayan began his initial traini ...

Sharreth Sujith Vasudevan I (born 3 October 1969), professionally credited as Sharreth, is an Indian music director and singer. He predominantly composes film scores and songs for Malayalam films, but has gone on to compose for Tamil, Telugu and Hindi fil ...

, M. Jayachandran and Deepak dev. She is regarded as "Nightingale of Kerala (Vanambadi)" and recorded many successful songs in Malayalam. She recorded a number of songs for the composer S. P. Venkitesh and her maximum duet songs in Malayalam are with K. J. Yesudas and M. G. Sreekumar. As of 2017, she has won the Kerala State Awards for the record 16 times. Her latest song "Theerame" from the movie Malik 2021 became another awesome hit in Malayalam Music Industry .

Telugu cinema

Chithra's first Telugu song was "Paadalenu Pallavaina" from the dubbed version of Tamil film ''Sindhu Bhairavi'' (1985) composed by Ilaiyaraaja. Her first song in a Telugu film is "Abba Daanisoku" from ''

Aakhari Poratam ''Aakhari Poratam'' () is a 1988 Indian Telugu-language action film produced by C. Ashwini Dutt under the Vyjayanthi Movies banner and directed by K. Raghavendra Rao. It stars Nagarjuna, Sridevi with music composed by Ilaiyaraaja. Based on the ...

'' (1988), sung alongside S. P. Balasubrahmanyam. She gained recognition for "Jallanta Kavvinta" from ''Geethanjali'' (1989) and then went onto sing several songs. Chithra received her first

Nandi Award The Nandi Awards are the awards that recognise the excellence in Telugu cinema, Telugu theatre and Telugu television, and Lifetime achievements in Indian cinema. Presented annually by the Government of Andhra Pradesh, the award is named after ...

, presented by

Government of Andhra Pradesh Government of Andhra Pradesh, abbreviated as, GOAP, or, Andhra Government, is the subnational government for the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is an elected government with 175 MLAs elected to the Legislative Assembly of Andhra Pradesh fo ...

for "Kalika Chilakala Koliki" from '' Seetharamayya Gari Manavaralu'' (1991). She won a total of 11 Nandi Awards as Best Female Playback Singer for various Telugu songs.

Hindi cinema

Chithra was introduced to Hindi film music in 1985; she recorded her first Hindi song composed by S. P. Venkitesh, which was not commercially released. For the 1991 Hindi film ''

Love Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of meanings is that the love o ...

'', composers

Anand–Milind Anand and Milind Srivastava are a duo of Indian film music composers. Born to composer Chitragupt, they have composed music for over 200 Bollywood films. The brothers debuted in 1984 with ''Ab Ayega Mazaa'' and had their major breakthrough with ' ...

, called upon her to sing duets song along with

and since then, Chithra has recorded for around 200 Bollywood songs. Apart from film songs, Chithra recorded for many private albums of which '' Piya Basanti'' and ''Sunset Point'' became hugely popular and went on to win several laurels including the MTV Music Video Awards. The popularity of the former album made her known among the Northern part of Indians identify her as "Piya Basanti" Chitra.

Other Indian languages

Performances

Work and association with music directors

Chithra has sung over 25,000 songs.

Concerts

Apart from playback singing, she also appeared among the panel of judges in the singing

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early ...

shows at

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

(''

Idea Star Singer ''Star Singer'' is an Indian music reality-television competition, broadcast on Asianet and previously sponsored by Idea Cellular. The show, which selected contestants in the age group of 15–35 years determined the winner based on their s ...

'' and ''Josco Indian Voice''), at

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

('' Airtel Super Singer Junior''), where she also won the award for Best Female Judge and at

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

(

MAA TV Star Maa (formerly Maa TV) is an Indian Telugu language general entertainment pay television channel owned by Disney Star, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company India. The channel telecasts Telugu language programmes such as serials, reali ...

) ''Super Singer''. Apart from this judgement panel she has appeared in music-shows like Swarabhishekam, Super Masti, Jhumandi Nadam. She is a regular singer in

Ilayaraja Ilaiyaraaja (born R. Gnanathesikan, 3 June 1943) is an Indian musician, composer, arranger, conductor, orchestrator, instrumentalist, lyricist and singer, popular for his works in Indian Cinema, prominently in Tamil films. Reputed to be one of ...

's, A.R. Rahman's and S.P. Balasubrahmanyam's concerts. She has performed all over the world in SPB's concerts along with S. P. Sailaja,

S. P. Charan Sripathi Panditharadhyula Charan is an Indian film playback singer, actor, producer and director known for his works in Tamil cinema and Telugu cinema. He is the son of legendary singer S. P. Balasubrahmanyam. He first worked as a playback sin ...

. She has been a regular singer participating in all the concerts of SPB50-The World Tour, she has performed almost all around the world with S. P. B. Charan, S. P. Sailaja, Sunitha Upadrashta Karthik &

Shweta Mohan Shweta Mohan (born 19 November 1985) is an Indian playback singer. She has received four Filmfare Awards South for Best Female Playback Singer, one Kerala State Film Award and one Tamil Nadu State Film Award. She has recorded more than 700 s ...

. She had performed at the Royal Albert Hall and House of Commons in London. On 6 June 2009, she performed in Qinghai International Musical Journey on Water and Life concert with a rendition of "Tunga Tarange Gange" alongside other singers from nations located around various major rivers such as the

Ganges The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

Volga The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchm ...

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

, and

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...

Studio albums

Chithra recorded her first studio album with Voodoo Rapper for the album called ''Ragga Raaga'' in 1993. She recorded the albums in Hindi, '' Piya Basanti'' (2000) and ''Sunset Point''. She associated with

Ustad Sultan Khan Ustad Sultan Khan (15 April 1940 – 27 November 2011) was an Indian ''sarangi'' player and classical vocalist belonging to ''Sikar Gharana''. He was one of the founding members of the Indian fusion group Tabla Beat Science, with Zakir Huss ...

for ''Piya Basanti'' which was certified

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

. ''Sunset Point'' had eight songs written and narrated by

Gulzar Sampooran Singh Kalra (born 18 August 1934), known professionally as Gulzar, is an Indian Urdu poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, and film director known for his works in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of greatest Urdu poets of this ...

and sung by Chithra and Bhupinder. In 2006, she released an album in dedication to M. S. Subbulakshmi named ''My Tribute''. It is a collection of '' Kritis'' and ''

bhajans Bhajan refers to any devotional song with a religious theme or spiritual ideas, specifically among Indian religions, in any language. The term bhajanam (Sanskrit: भजनम्) means ''reverence'' and originates from the root word ''bhaj'' ...

'' dedicated to Subbulakshmi. In 2009 she released ''Nightingale: A Salute to Lataji'', a musical tribute to

Lata Mangeshkar Lata Mangeshkar () (born as Hema Mangeshkar; 28 September 1929 – 06 February 2022) was an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is widely considered to have been the greatest and most influential singers in India. Her con ...

on her 80th birthday. She also recorded many Malayalam albums for K. J. Yesudas, M. Jayachandran and

compositions. She also planned a ghazal album with Ghulam Ali and

Asha Bhosle Asha Bhosle (; Mangeshkar; born 8 September 1933) is an Indian playback singer, entrepreneur and occasional actress and television personality who predominantly works in Indian Cinema. Known for her versatility, she has been described in th ...

International projects

* Recorded with the Arab singer Jawad Ali for his album ''Amar Ul Hob'' * Recorded a song for the jazz pianist Herbie Hancock

Public profile

Philanthropy

Chithra, along with a Kerala-based satellite channel, Asianet Cable Vision (ACV), jointly launched a fundraising organisation, Sneha Nandana, to raise funds for the welfare of retired musicians who have lost their careers due to changes in the music industry. She launched this organisation on the occasion of her completion of three decades in the music playback industry. She said that the fund would provide help to the musicians with financial impediments and those suffering from health problems. A cultural event called Chithra Pournami was held on 15 February 2011 at

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

to celebrate the 30th year of her career and also to launch this organisation.

Awards, honors, and recognition

Chithra is a recipient of six National Film Awards, nine Filmfare Awards South and 36 different state film awards. She has won film awards from all the four south Indian states. She was awarded India's third highest civilian honor

in 2021 and

in 2005 for her valuable contributions towards the Indian musical fraternity. In 2019, she was honoured by

Sultan bin Muhammad Al-Qasimi Sultan bin Muhammad Al-Qasimi ( ar, سلطان بن محمد القاسمي; born 2 July 1939) is the sovereign ruler of the Emirate of Sharjah and a member of the Federal Supreme Council of the United Arab Emirates. He has ruled Sharjah conti ...

, sovereign ruler of the

Emirate of Sharjah The Emirate of Sharjah (; ar, إِمَارَة ٱلشَّارِقَة ') is one of the emirates of the United Arab Emirates, which covers and has a population of over 1,400,000 (2015). It comprises the capital city of Sharjah, after which it ...

and a member of the

Federal Supreme Council ) , legislature = , coa_pic = Emblem of the United Arab Emirates.svg , session_room = , house_type = Unicameral , term_limits = , structure2 = , structure2_res = , leader1_type = President , le ...

of the United Arab Emirates, for successfully completing 40 years in Indian

film industry The film industry or motion picture industry comprises the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking, i.e., film production companies, film studios, cinematography, animation, film production, screenwriting, pre-production, p ...

. She was honoured with the

by the Ministry of Women and Child Development of the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

at the

on 20 January 2018. She received the

MTV Video Music Award – International Viewer's Choice MTV's International Viewer's Choice awards honored the best music videos as voted for by the audiences of MTV's channels around the world. They were given out every year during the VMAs from 1989 to 2003. History The first International Viewer's ...

at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York in 2001. She received

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

s from

Sathyabama University Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology (SIST), formerly Sathyabama University, is a deemed to be university, situated at Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It was founded in 1987 as Sathyabama Engineering College by the late Jeppiaar and re ...

in 2011 and from The International Tamil University, United States in 2018. She is the only South Indian female singer who has presented her maiden concert at the world's prestigious concert hall Royal Albert Hall in London in 2001. Her song " Kannalane/Kehna Hi Kya" from the film ''

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second-m ...

'' (1995) was included in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' "1000 Songs Everyone Must Hear Before You Die" list.

Personal life

Chithra is married to Vijayashankar, an engineer and businessman. They had a daughter Nandana, who was born with Down's syndrome. Her daughter drowned in a pool in

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

in 2011 when Chithra was about to perform at an A. R. Rahman concert.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chithra, K. S. 1963 births Living people Assamese playback singers Singers from Kerala Bollywood playback singers 20th-century Indian singers Indian women playback singers Indian women classical singers Kannada playback singers Kerala State Film Award winners Tamil playback singers Malayalam playback singers Singers from Thiruvananthapuram Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Telugu playback singers Tamil Nadu State Film Awards winners Filmfare Awards South winners Nandi Award winners Recipients of the Kalaimamani Award Women Carnatic singers Carnatic singers Film musicians from Kerala 21st-century Indian singers 20th-century Indian women singers 21st-century Indian women singers Women musicians from Kerala Best Female Playback Singer National Film Award winners Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts Sanskrit-language singers Screen Awards winners South Indian International Movie Awards winners