Sunitha Sarathy is an Indian vocalist and performer known for her work in both Indian contemporary and Western classical music genres. She is also a gospel singer and has performed in various church choirs. Sarathy gained recognition after winning the "Virgin Voice Choice" contest in 2000, a joint initiative of Channel V and Virgin Records. This paved the way for her debut in film playback singing in 2002.

She made her playback singing debut in the Tamil film "Yei! Nee Romba Azhagey Irruke," where she sang the prelude and interlude portions of the song "Ini Naanum Naanillai" along with Srinivas and Sujatha Mohan as the lead singers. Sarathy has lent her voice to around 200 film songs in various languages and has showcased her versatility as a singer-keyboardist-percussionist across different Western music genres such as classical, jazz, soul and R&B, neo-soul, and quiet storm. She has also recorded numerous gospel songs.

Coming from a family with a background in Western music, Sarathy began singing in choirs from a young age. Her mother, Susheela Sarathy, is a pianist and conductor of leading Madras choirs. Sarathy's talent was evident early on, and she gained recognition within Madras' church music circles for her performances, including devotionals in Latin and renditions of Franz Schubert's "Ave Maria." She has had the honor of rendering the 'Easter Proclamation' at San Thome Basilica.

After winning the Virgin Voice Choice contest, Sarathy caught the attention of playback singer Srinivas, who offered her a small portion of a song in the film "Hey! Nee Romba Azhaga Irukke" in 2002. She later received a big break and wider recognition with the full-length solo song "Thoodu Varuma" in the Tamil blockbuster film "Kaakha Kaakha." Sarathy gained national recognition for her playback singing in the Hindi-Tamil bilingual film "Yuva/Aaytha Ezhuthu" in 2004, directed by Mani Ratnam and composed by A. R. Rahman.

Since then, Sarathy has recorded her voice for several successful soundtracks in various languages, including films like "Mitr, My Friend," "Anniyan," "Polladhavan," "Vallavan," "Kana Kandaen," "Don 2," "Happy Days," "Sainikudu," and "Cheluvina Chittara." She has also ventured into international collaborations, recording the song "Warriors in Peace" for the Mandarin film "Warriors of Heaven and Earth" composed by A. R. Rahman. Sarathy has performed at various events, including the 2006 Asian Games.

In July 2013, Sarathy became the first solo female performer from India to be signed by AKG microphones as an endorsee. In July 2014, she launched the Sunitha Sarathy School of Vocal Excellence, a learning center focused on performance-oriented training for aspiring singers.