[1][2] Early in her career, Chitra Iyer attempted to reach out to composer A. R. Rahman to work with him, but found it difficult as she was based out of Bangalore.

Furthermore, apart from in her mother tongue of Tamil, Chitra continued to sing playback for Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi films.

Having done her education in Kerala, she had a good foundation in the Malayalam language, with her work on the show leading to further opportunities to sing for films.

The pair met at the insistence of their parents at Chennai Gymkhana Club in early 1989, and have since had two daughters Aditi and Anjali.

In recent years, alongside her television commitments, Chitra has worked as the founder and trustee of the Society for Elephant Welfare in Kerala.