Chitrangada Singh was born in Meerut to an Indian Army officer. She was
named after Chitrangada, a character in the Mahabharata, by her
mother.As a girl, she was known for looking like the late actress, Smita
Patil.When she was a Class IX student, she was approached by a
filmmaker to play the young Smita Patil, in a documentary on the actor.
She received training in Kathak (a classical dance) and enjoyed
acting.She graduated from Lady Irwin College, New Delhi in 1997.
Chitrangada
Singh began her career in Delhi as a model before making the transition
to the silver screen. After completing her education, she entered
modeling, where her ad credits include ICICI bank and Alukkas Jewellery,
and gradually shifting to music videos, she performed lyricist Gulzar's
Sunset Point.
It was in a music video of singer Abhijeet, that
was she was spotted by Sudhir Mishra's production manager.Subsequently,
she made her much acclaimed debut with Sudhir Mishra's film Hazaaron
Khwaishein Aisi in 2003,the role got her wide acclaim, a Washington Post
review noted her for giving "her character a deep sense of dignity and
decency".After that Chitragandha acted in the 2005 film Kal: Yesterday
and Tomorrow (2005).
She took a break from acting from 2005 to
2008.In 2008, she made her comeback with the leading role opposite
Sanjay Suri in the director Onir's romantic-comedy, Sorry Bhai!
(2008).Its release over the weekend of the Mumbai terror attacks proved
disastrous at the box office.
She is presently acting for commercial advertisements for Aliva snacks, Taj Mahal tea and Garnier.
She is set to appear in Sudhir Mishra's next movie, Dhruv, where she plays a power-broker.
In April 2009, she was awarded the Young Women Achiever Award - 2009' by FICCI.
Chitrangada Singh married golfer Jyoti Randhawa in 2001 and the couple have a son. Her brother is golfer Digvijay Singh.