K. S. Chithra
Krishnan Nair Shantakumari Chithra (born 27 July 1963) is an Indian playback singer and Carnatic musician. In a career spanning around five decades, she has recorded over 25,000 songs in various Indian languages such as Tamil, Kannada, Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam, Odia, Bengali, Punjabi, Rajasthani, Awadhi, Marathi, Tulu, Badaga, Braj, Banjara, Urdu, Assamese, Gujarati, Manipuri and Sanskrit, as well as foreign languages such as Malay, Latin, Arabic, Sinhalese, English and French.
Career Timeline
In 2024, K
In 2024, K. S. Chithra headlined the Chithra Varnam concert on 11 May at the Chabot Performing Arts Center, Hayward, California. Organised by Kalalaya sponsored by Nambiar Builders, the event featured her signature melodies across multiple Indian languages, with support from musicians such as Sharreth and K. K. Nishad. The concert celebrated Mother's Day, adding a sentimental note to the evening.
In 2024, K
In 2024, K. S. Chithra headlined the Chithra Varnam concert on 11 May at the Chabot Performing Arts Center, Hayward, California. Organised by Kalalaya sponsored by Nambiar Builders, the event featured her signature melodies across multiple Indian languages, with support from musicians such as Sharreth and K. K. Nishad. The concert celebrated Mother's Day, adding a sentimental note to the evening.
She is honoured with the title First Ladies by the President of India in 2018 for being the first Indian woman to be hon
She is honoured with the title First Ladies by the President of India in 2018 for being the first Indian woman to be honoured by British Parliament at House of Commons, United Kingdom in 2003. In 2024, she was again honoured by the British Parliament, United Kingdom, with the title The Greatest Indian Singer of All Times. In 2009, She became the first Indian artist to be honoured by Government of China while performing live at the Qinghai International river festival. On 20 March 2025, She was formally honoured by the Parliament of South Australia in recognition of her outstanding contributions to Indian music. She was honoured by the Texas House of Representatives, Government of Texas, United States of America, for her lasting contributions to music and the arts. In 2025, she was honoured in the United States with a Joint Legislative Resolution from the State of New Jersey and a Mayoral Proclamation from the Township of Edison for her outstanding contributions to music and philanthropy. On 19 October 2025, the K. S. Chithra Day was proclaimed by the Shelby County Government in Memphis, Tennessee via a mayoral proclamation from the Office of the Mayor. She was honoured by the Government of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, with a Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of her distinguished contributions to Indian music and her five-decade-long career. Chithra is a recipient of 6 National Film Awards, 10 Filmfare Awards South and 43 State Government awards from 8 states of India including 18 from Kerala, 12 from United Andhra Pradesh, 5 from Tamil Nadu, 4 from Karnataka, and 1 each from Odisha, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra governments She was awarded India's third-highest civilian honours Padma Bhushan in 2021 and Padma Shri in 2005 for her valuable contributions towards the Indian musical fraternity.
She is honoured with the title First Ladies by the President of India in 2018 for being the first Indian woman to be hon
She is honoured with the title First Ladies by the President of India in 2018 for being the first Indian woman to be honoured by British Parliament at House of Commons, United Kingdom in 2003. In 2024, she was again honoured by the British Parliament, United Kingdom, with the title The Greatest Indian Singer of All Times. In 2009, She became the first Indian artist to be honoured by Government of China while performing live at the Qinghai International river festival. On 20 March 2025, She was formally honoured by the Parliament of South Australia in recognition of her outstanding contributions to Indian music. She was honoured by the Texas House of Representatives, Government of Texas, United States of America, for her lasting contributions to music and the arts. In 2025, she was honoured in the United States with a Joint Legislative Resolution from the State of New Jersey and a Mayoral Proclamation from the Township of Edison for her outstanding contributions to music and philanthropy. On 19 October 2025, the K. S. Chithra Day was proclaimed by the Shelby County Government in Memphis, Tennessee via a mayoral proclamation from the Office of the Mayor. She was honoured by the Government of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, with a Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of her distinguished contributions to Indian music and her five-decade-long career. Chithra is a recipient of 6 National Film Awards, 10 Filmfare Awards South and 43 State Government awards from 8 states of India including 18 from Kerala, 12 from United Andhra Pradesh, 5 from Tamil Nadu, 4 from Karnataka, and 1 each from Odisha, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra governments She was awarded India's third-highest civilian honours Padma Bhushan in 2021 and Padma Shri in 2005 for her valuable contributions towards the Indian musical fraternity.
Chithra, along with a Kerala-based satellite channel, Asianet Cable Vision (ACV), jointly launched a fundraising organis
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 to celebrate the 30th year of her career and also to launch this organisation.
Chithra, along with a Kerala-based satellite channel, Asianet Cable Vision (ACV), jointly launched a fundraising organis
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 to celebrate the 30th year of her career and also to launch this organisation.
She had performed at the Royal Albert Hall and House of Commons in London
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, Volga, Rhine, Danube, Mississippi, and Amazon.
She had performed at the Royal Albert Hall and House of Commons in London
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, Volga, Rhine, Danube, Mississippi, and Amazon.
Chithra recorded her first studio album with Voodoo Rapper for the album called Ragga Raaga in 1993
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 for Piya Basanti which was certified Gold. Sunset Point had eight songs written and narrated by Gulzar 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 dedicated to Subbulakshmi. In 2009 she released Nightingale: A Salute to Lataji, a musical tribute to Lata Mangeshkar on her 80th birthday. She also recorded many Malayalam albums for K. J. Yesudas, M. Jayachandran and Sharreth compositions. She also planned a ghazal album with Ghulam Ali and Asha Bhosle.
Chithra recorded her first studio album with Voodoo Rapper for the album called Ragga Raaga in 1993
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 for Piya Basanti which was certified Gold. Sunset Point had eight songs written and narrated by Gulzar 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 dedicated to Subbulakshmi. In 2009 she released Nightingale: A Salute to Lataji, a musical tribute to Lata Mangeshkar on her 80th birthday. She also recorded many Malayalam albums for K. J. Yesudas, M. Jayachandran and Sharreth compositions. She also planned a ghazal album with Ghulam Ali and Asha Bhosle.
Chithra's first Telugu song was "Paadalenu Pallavaina" from the dubbed version of Tamil film Sindhu Bhairavi (1985) comp
Chithra's first Telugu song was "Paadalenu Pallavaina" from the dubbed version of Tamil film Sindhu Bhairavi (1985) composed by Ilaiyaraaja, later sang a humming in a song sung by K. J. Yesudas composed by K. V. Mahadevan for the picture Pralayam (1985). Her first song in a Telugu film is "Gelupu Maade" from Vijrumbhana (1986), composed by K. Chakravarthy. Later went on to sing songs to many Telugu composers like Sathyam, Raj-Koti, Ilaiyaraja, K. V. Mahadevan & K. Chakravarthy for the years 1986–88, but she gained initial recognition/break-through for compositions by Ilaiyaraja like "Jallanta Kavvinta" from Geethanjali (1989) & "Ninnukori Varnam" from Gharshana( 1988) and then went onto sing several songs to many composers in Telugu. It was from then onwards that she became a notable singer in Telugu and went on to record every other song in each album being the solo card female singer for almost all the films in the 90s. It was the moment where she established herself as a well recognised singer and strengthening her position in Telugu films by almost taking the place of S. Janaki from 1990. Chithra received her first Nandi Award, presented by Government of Andhra Pradesh 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. As the years passed by Chithra was recognised as a legendary singer in Telugu whose era or legacy was considered to be the golden era standing next to P. Susheela and S. Janaki. As of today Chithra is considered as one of the finest singers of the Telugu film industry whose charisma is remarkable. She sang maximum songs in Telugu to M. M. Keeravani and also worked with almost every notable composer from then to till date.
Chithra's first Telugu song was "Paadalenu Pallavaina" from the dubbed version of Tamil film Sindhu Bhairavi (1985) comp
Chithra's first Telugu song was "Paadalenu Pallavaina" from the dubbed version of Tamil film Sindhu Bhairavi (1985) composed by Ilaiyaraaja, later sang a humming in a song sung by K. J. Yesudas composed by K. V. Mahadevan for the picture Pralayam (1985). Her first song in a Telugu film is "Gelupu Maade" from Vijrumbhana (1986), composed by K. Chakravarthy. Later went on to sing songs to many Telugu composers like Sathyam, Raj-Koti, Ilaiyaraja, K. V. Mahadevan & K. Chakravarthy for the years 1986–88, but she gained initial recognition/break-through for compositions by Ilaiyaraja like "Jallanta Kavvinta" from Geethanjali (1989) & "Ninnukori Varnam" from Gharshana( 1988) and then went onto sing several songs to many composers in Telugu. It was from then onwards that she became a notable singer in Telugu and went on to record every other song in each album being the solo card female singer for almost all the films in the 90s. It was the moment where she established herself as a well recognised singer and strengthening her position in Telugu films by almost taking the place of S. Janaki from 1990. Chithra received her first Nandi Award, presented by Government of Andhra Pradesh 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. As the years passed by Chithra was recognised as a legendary singer in Telugu whose era or legacy was considered to be the golden era standing next to P. Susheela and S. Janaki. As of today Chithra is considered as one of the finest singers of the Telugu film industry whose charisma is remarkable. She sang maximum songs in Telugu to M. M. Keeravani and also worked with almost every notable composer from then to till date.
Chithra was introduced to Hindi film music in 1985; she recorded her first Hindi song composed by S
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, composers Anand–Milind, called upon her to sing duets song along with S. P. Balasubrahmanyam and since then, Chithra has recorded for around 200 Bollywood songs.
Chithra was introduced to Hindi film music in 1985; she recorded her first Hindi song composed by S
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, composers Anand–Milind, called upon her to sing duets song along with S. P. Balasubrahmanyam and since then, Chithra has recorded for around 200 Bollywood songs.
K
K. S. Chithra was introduced to Malayalam playback by M. G. Radhakrishnan in 1979 who recorded her voice for films and private albums. Attahasam, Snehapoorvam Meera and Njan Ekananu 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 (1986) composed by Bombay Ravi got her the second National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer. 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 "Poomaname" from the film Nirakkoottu (1985) composed by Shyam. Since then, she has earned wide recognition by singing popular songs under the compositions of Raveendran, Shyam, S. P. Venkitesh, Mohan Sithara, Salil Chowdhury, Kannur Rajan, Ilaiyaraaja, Johnson, Ouseppachan, M. K. Arjunan, A. T. Ummer, Berny Ignatius, M. B. Sreenivasan, Mohan Sithara, Vidyasagar, Ramesh Narayan, Sharreth, 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.
K
K. S. Chithra was introduced to Malayalam playback by M. G. Radhakrishnan in 1979 who recorded her voice for films and private albums. Attahasam, Snehapoorvam Meera and Njan Ekananu 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 (1986) composed by Bombay Ravi got her the second National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer. 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 "Poomaname" from the film Nirakkoottu (1985) composed by Shyam. Since then, she has earned wide recognition by singing popular songs under the compositions of Raveendran, Shyam, S. P. Venkitesh, Mohan Sithara, Salil Chowdhury, Kannur Rajan, Ilaiyaraaja, Johnson, Ouseppachan, M. K. Arjunan, A. T. Ummer, Berny Ignatius, M. B. Sreenivasan, Mohan Sithara, Vidyasagar, Ramesh Narayan, Sharreth, 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.
Chithra received her training in Carnatic music from K
Chithra received her training in Carnatic music from K. Omanakutty for seven years. She graduated in B.A. in music with first class and third rank from the University of Kerala. She was selected for the National Talent Search Scholarship from the Government of India during the period 1978 - 1984.
Chithra received her training in Carnatic music from K
Chithra received her training in Carnatic music from K. Omanakutty for seven years. She graduated in B.A. in music with first class and third rank from the University of Kerala. She was selected for the National Talent Search Scholarship from the Government of India during the period 1978 - 1984.
Chithra was born 27 July 1963 in the city of Trivandrum (now Thiruvananthapuram) of the Kerala state
Chithra was born 27 July 1963 in the city of Trivandrum (now Thiruvananthapuram) of the Kerala state. Her father, Krishnan Nair was a school teacher and a music enthusiast who taught basics of music to all his three children. He died after a long battle with cancer on 18 July 1986. Her mother Shanthakumari was also a music teacher. She has an elder sister, K. S. Beena who is a former singer and younger brother K. S. Mahesh who is a musician. Chithra completed her schooling at the Cotton Hill Government Girls High School in Thiruvananthapuram. She acknowledges that it was the teachers of the school who spotted her talent in music.
Chithra was born 27 July 1963 in the city of Trivandrum (now Thiruvananthapuram) of the Kerala state
Chithra was born 27 July 1963 in the city of Trivandrum (now Thiruvananthapuram) of the Kerala state. Her father, Krishnan Nair was a school teacher and a music enthusiast who taught basics of music to all his three children. He died after a long battle with cancer on 18 July 1986. Her mother Shanthakumari was also a music teacher. She has an elder sister, K. S. Beena who is a former singer and younger brother K. S. Mahesh who is a musician. Chithra completed her schooling at the Cotton Hill Government Girls High School in Thiruvananthapuram. She acknowledges that it was the teachers of the school who spotted her talent in music.
About K. S. Chithra
Chithra was born 27 July 1963 in the city of Trivandrum (now Thiruvananthapuram) of the Kerala state. Her father, Krishnan Nair was a school teacher and a music enthusiast who taught basics of music to all his three children. He died after a long battle with cancer on 18 July 1986. Her mother Shanthakumari was also a music teacher. She has an elder sister, K. S. Beena who is a former singer and younger brother K. S. Mahesh who is a musician. Chithra completed her schooling at the Cotton Hill Government Girls High School in Thiruvananthapuram. She acknowledges that it was the teachers of the school who spotted her talent in music. Chithra received her training in Carnatic music from K. Omanakutty for seven years. She graduated in B.A.
Kerala, India
Notable facts
Indian classical music
Recorded with the Arab singer Jawad Ali for his album Amar Ul Hob
Recorded a song for the jazz pianist Herbie Hancock
K. S. Chithra at IMDb
Hindi songs by K. S. Chithra
Airtel Super Singer Junior
"Gudilo Badilo Madilo Vodilo"
Muzaffar Hussain Baig
Discography
No discography indexed yet for this artist.
Discover
Discography at a glance
4
Songs on Lyrks0
Albums4
SinglesFrequently asked questions
Krishnan Nair Shantakumari Chithra (born 27 July 1963) is an Indian playback singer and Carnatic musician. In a career spanning around five decades, she has recorded over 25,000 songs in various Indian languages such as Tamil, Kannada, Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam, Odia, Bengali, Punjabi, Rajasthani, Awadhi, Marathi, Tulu, Badaga, Braj, Banjara, Urdu, Assamese, Gujarati, Manipuri and Sanskrit, as well as foreign languages such as Malay, Latin, Arabic, Sinhalese, English and French.
K. S. Chithra is from Kerala, India.
Lyrks has lyrics for 4 songs by K. S. Chithra.