A known actress in the South Indian film industries, Kalpana Priyadarshini has over 300 movies to her credit and was widely a part of the Malayalam film industry. The National Film Award-winning actress, started off as a child actor in 1977 with the Malayalam movie Vidarunna Mottukal, three years after which she debuted as a lead actress in 1980 with Pokkuveyil.

While she mainly appeared in Malayalam movies, she also made her foray into the Tamil film industry in 1985 with Chinna Veedu, which went on to become a commercially successful movie. In an almost-four-decade-long career, Kalpana appeared in movies such as Sakshal Sreeman Chathunni, Injakkadan Mathai & Sons, Pidakkozhi Koovunna Noottandu, Pammal K. Sambandam, Sirithal Rasipen, Vismayathumbathu, Thirunakkara Perumal, Shankaranum Mohananum, Bangalore Days, Ennum Eppozhum, and Charlie.

While shooting for Oopiri in 2016, Kalpana was found unconscious in her hotel room and was rushed to the hospital, however, she was declared dead upon arriving at the hospital. In 2018, her last Tamil venture Inba Twinkle Lilly was released posthumously.