Chayanika's venture into the world of direction has been a gradual one. She had no formal education on the subject. However, she had been associated with the media since childhood. A graduate of Chhayanat she says, "I was trained in classical dancing and singing, was part of the BTV show Abol Tabol, Kochi Kachar Mela, have won prizes in Notun Kuri and stood 1st class 2nd in Chhayanat. I had also gone to Shantiniketan to complete my BA in music (that remained incomplete as she got married before she could graduate)."

Chayanika left the cultural arena after her marriage in 1990. Supporting her husband was her priority. "We had to struggle a lot in those initial days. Back then Arun (Arun Chowdhury, TV play director and editor of Anandodhara) had financial constraints and I was a housewife. My mother was highly disappointed in me. She had always been career-oriented. Naturally when I ended up being a struggling housewife, she was not happy."

By 1997 Chayanika's husband Arun Chowdhury had become a successful scriptwriter. Once her children grew up, Chayanika toyed with the idea of writing herself. "One day I wrote something and showed it to Arun, but he refused to see it. He said that if he checked my script I would become dependent on him. I was hurt but determined and took the script to Bipasha (Hayat). She just said one word, "Amazing". A TV serial was developed on that. It was called Bodh and was made under Mahfuz Ahmed's banner.

Her big break as a director came in 2001 when she wrote Shesher Bela for Mujibur Rahman. "I casually asked him who the director would be and he asked whether I would be interested. I couldn't believe it but agreed instantly." Since then Chayanika did not have to look back. In 2002-'03 she had 14 releases and in 2006, 16 went on air among which Jekhaney Shimanto, Sonar Kathi Rupar Kathi, Aanchol, Kotha chilo onnorokom, Chotushkon, Kotha chilo and Noshtoneer received appreciation from the audience.

Chayanika has quite a different way of framing and directing. She has received her share of criticism as well. One of the complaints being 'her serials are just about a title, a promotional song and a flashy setting'. In her words, "Yes I do give the setting a lot of importance. Watching Hindi serials I've always wondered why they appealed to the public, despite having the same old story. I realised that people liked the way the set up looked and I followed the same track. People want to be entertained and I was going to give them that. Today I see many of my contemporaries, who have criticised me, following in the same footsteps. Many directors are now using songs in their TV plays, besides emphasising on the setting. I consider it a success."

There have been other criticisms as well. One of them being that she is successful because of her husband. In her own defence she says, "I have completed 47 serials and most of them have been widely accepted. As much as I love my husband I don't believe Arun's name single-handedly could have gotten me this far. I'm grateful to my actors and my audience. They were ready to work with me when I was new. And now I have my own style which appeals to the public."

Chayanika's future plans include emerging as a filmmaker. "My dream is to make a movie. Not an offbeat movie but a pure commercial one that will touch the heart of millions," she says.