She recorded her first song under Vilayat Khan's composition in Kadambari (1976). The song was entitled 'Aayega Aanewala' (a remake of Mahal's (1949) superhit song sung by Lata Mangeshkar) and was picturised on Shabana Azmi. Laxmikant gave her an opportunity to work as a dubbing artist. Kavita impressed Laxmikant with her extremely strong grasp of Hindustani classical music. Initially, she recorded songs and cut demos of songs intended for singers like Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle. In her struggling phase, she received the patronage of music composers Laxmikant—Pyarelal, who backed her so strongly that she was labeled as a singer exclusively working with them. This gave many music directors an excuse to avoid working with her.