Although she came into the industry with the intention of being a lead actress, she turned out to be popular among the audiences for her comic roles.

Kalpana began her career as a child artist in the film Vidarunna Mottukal.

Her Tamil debut was through the 1985 released successful film Chinna Veedu, opposite K. Bhagyaraj.

[8] Kalpana went to Hyderabad for the shooting of the movie Oopiri / Thozha which starred Karthi.

On 25 January 2016, she was found unconscious in her hotel room and was immediately taken to the hospital by the crew members, but died of a heart attack on the way.