During her college days at
St. Xavier College, Mumbai, she got an opportunity to record a song in the Bengali film
Shriman Prithviraj in 1973 with
Lata Mangeshkar as co-singer under the auspices of the music composer and singer
Hemant Kumar. Although the young Sharada aspired to work in Indian Foreign Services, she moved to Bombay when she was 14 to try her luck as a playback singer in the Hindi film industry. She is an alumnus of St. Xavier's College, Bombay from where she did her BA Honors Economics. She was very active in St. Xavier's music group. During the annual college festival (Malhar), she met Ranu Mukherjee, the daughter of Hemant Kumar. Ranu took the initiative of reintroducing Kavita to her father,
Playback singing Track singing and remake recording She recorded her first song under
Vilayat Khan's composition in
Kadambari (1976). The song was entitled
Aayega Aanewala (a remake of Mahal's (1949), the superhit song sung by Lata Mangeshkar) and was picturised on
Shabana Azmi. Laxmikant gave her an opportunity to work as a dubbing artist. Initially, she recorded songs and cut demos of songs intended for singers Lata Mangeshkar and
Asha Bhosle.
First original song: However she got her first own song, recorded in 1977 in
Kannada, "Ondanondu kaaladaga" in the film
Ondanondu Kaladalli (
Once upon a time) directed by
Girish Karnad. The song was penned by the Jnanpit awardee
Chandrashekhara Kambara and the music by
Bhaskar Chandavarkar. Being the only song in the entire movie, "Ondanondu kaladaga" with its folk touch, became a hit and earned fame for Kavita Krishnamurti. Then she went on to sing many Kannada-language songs. In 1980, she sang "Kaahe Ko Byaahi" for the film
Maang Bharo Sajana, which featured her singing in her own voice, although the song was dropped from the final cut of the film. In 1985, her career took off with her first major hit, "Tumse Milkar Na Jaane Kyon" from the Hindi film
Pyaar Jhukta Nahin (1985). Following the success of the song, it opened up opportunities for her beyond the Laxmikant–Pyarelal camp. However, "Hawa Hawai" and "Karte Hai Hum Pyaar Mr. India Se", two popular songs from the equally popular movie
Mr. India (1987) - Karte Hain Hum Pyaar Mr. India se, proved to be a turning point in her career. The songs were composed by music composers Laxmikant–Pyarelal, the latter being a duet with
Kishore Kumar and lip-synced on screen by an actress
Sridevi. Her collaboration with Laxmikant–Pyarelal produced several hits. Hawa Hawai, which launched her into stardom was dubbed to be recorded by Asha Bhosle, however later producer decided to keep her version despite her mistake in the song. The 1990s thrust Kavita into being known as one of the leading female playback singers. Her performance as a singer in the film
1942, composed by R. D. Burman, won her much popular acclaim. With a string of hits from
1942,
Yaraana,
Agni Sakshi and
Khamoshi, Kavita Krishnamurthy established herself as a leading female playback singer, alongside
Alka Yagnik. She went on to work with several music directors of the 1990s Hindi films, such as
Bappi Lahiri,
Anand–Milind,
A. R. Rahman,
Rajesh Roshan,
Raamlaxman,
Ismail Darbar,
Himesh Reshammiya,
Aadesh Shrivastava,
Nadeem-Shravan,
Jatin–Lalit,
Viju Shah and
Anu Malik. Her work with A. R. Rahman and Ismail Darbar remain some of the most critically acclaimed renditions of the last two decades. During her stint as a playback singer, she sang duets with the leading male singers of her time. Early in her career, she sang duets with Kishore Kumar,
Mohammed Rafi and
Shailendra Singh. Her most prolific works were with the leading singers of the 1990s are
Amit Kumar,
Mohammad Aziz,
Udit Narayan,
Kumar Sanu,
S. P. Balasubrahmanyam and
Abhijeet. She has also sung with younger singers in the 2000s such as
Sonu Nigam,
Shaan and
Babul Supriyo. Her female duets mostly have been with Alka Yagnik, then with
Anuradha Paudwal and
Sadhana Sargam with a few duets also with Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle. During the 90s and early 2000s, Kavita Krishnamurthy alongside Alka Yagnik sang mostly for leading ladies. As she actively started exploring fusion music, Kavita traveled around the world, including the US, UK, UAE, Europe, Africa, Australia, East Asia, the Middle East, and South America. She has performed in concert halls including
Royal Albert Hall in London,
The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.,
Madison Square Garden,
The Lincoln Center in New York City, the
Zhongshan Music Hall in Beijing,
The Esplanade in Singapore, The Putra Jaya World Trade Centre in
Kuala Lumpur, and
Gewandhaus Leipzigm. Although primarily a playback singer, Kavita has sung with orchestras as a soloist; she has collaborated with Western artists from
jazz, pop and classical fields. She has lent her voice for many albums. As a playback singer, Kavita has performed throughout India. In 2014, she also sang "Koi Chahat Koi Hasrat" for the album ''Women's Day Special: Spreading Melodies Everywhere''. It was composed by Nayab Raja and penned by Dipti Mishra.
In Kannada Kavita's playback singing career started with
Kannada-language films. Her first film song was in the Kannada film
Ondanondu kaladalli (1978) with the same title. She sang many hit songs in Kannada since then. Songs such as "Bareyada mounada Kavithe" (
Sparsha), "Hoove Hoove" (
H2O), "Endo Kanda kanasu" (
Lankesh Patrike), "O Malle o dumbi" ('Naga Devate'), "Artha madkolo" (
Shishya), "Kaveri Kaveri" (
Raja Huli), and many more hit songs made her a household name in
Karnataka.
Pop and devotional singing Due to her participation in fusion and pop music, Kavita has lent her voice to several pop and devotional albums. The most prominent ones being: •
Bhalobasi •
Shiv Baba ko Yaad Kar •
Dujone Dekha Holo •
Together Tagore •
Premer Neshay •
Mohe Raam Dhun Laagi •
Bhajan Stuti •
Aadi Ganesh •
Venkatesha Suprabhatam •
Shiva Shlokas •
Koi Akela Kahan •
Meera Ka Ram •
Mahalakshmi Stotram •
Pop Time •
Sai Ka Vardaan •
Shagufthagi •
Dil Ki Awaaz •
Hasratein •
Athens •
Asmita •
Mahiya • "Hum Dono" ==Television appearances==