Bhavani was born and raised in Calicut, Kerala, in a family of renowned ayurvedic doctors. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Botany from Farook College, after which she settled in Chennai. She has produced several memorable films in Malayalam along with her husband, Filmmaker Hariharan. She won the National Award for her film ‘Sargam’ for ‘the best popular movie providing wholesome entertainment’ in 1993.

Bhavani has been writing poetry and short stories from a young age and is also an artist. She draws creative inspiration from her life experiences and nature, especially the magnificent landscapes of Kerala. Bhavani published her first book, ‘Sahyamanasam’, in 2018 which is a collection of her poems about the beauty of the western ghats. Her second book published in 2022, ‘Vayalar Ganangalile Soudarya Bimbangal’, talks about the beauty in the poetry of Malayalam film songs written by the late poet and lyricist Vayalar, whose songs are considered to be evergreen classics of the golden era of Malayalam film music.