Indian actress Sonali Kulkarni made her screen debut in 1992 with Girish Karnad's Hindi film Cheluvi , and soon entered Marathi cinema with Jabbar Patel's Mukta (1994). Throughout the 1990s, she balanced film and television, delivering notable early performances in the award-winning Doghi (1995), Amol Palekar’s internationally acclaimed Daayraa (1996), and the political drama Gharabaher (1999). Kulkarni gained wider recognition with Vidhu Vinod Chopra's Mission Kashmir (2000), which brought her multiple Best Supporting Actress nominations, followed by successful roles in the romantic thriller Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya and Farhan Akhtar's coming-of-age film Dil Chahta Hai (both 2001). [1] Though she experienced a few commercial failures thereafter, she continued to receive critical praise for her performances in Marathi cinema, including Chaitra (2002), Devrai (2004), and the 2005 Gujarati hit Love Is Blind, the first of which earned her a National Film Award Special Mention.
Kulkarni won Best Actress at the Milan International Film Festival for her performance in the Italian film Fuoco Su di Me. Her versatility was further evident in films such as Taxi No. 9211 (2006), Gandha (2009), Gabhricha Paus (2009), and Singham (2011). She earned significant acclaim for her roles in Deool (2011), in which she portrayed Vahini Saheb, the thriller Pune 52 (2013), and the Gujarati film The Good Road (2013), the first Gujarati feature to be selected as India’s entry to the 86th Academy Awards. [2] From the mid-2010s, Kulkarni delivered some of her most celebrated performances in Dr. Prakash Baba Amte – The Real Hero (2014), Kachcha Limboo (2017), and Gulabjaam (2018), earning multiple Filmfare Marathi Awards and Maharashtra State Film Awards.
In the 2020s, she continued working across films and web series, appearing in Pension (2021), Mumbai Diaries 26/11 (2021–present), The Whistleblower (2021), Dharavi Bank (2022), and Ticha Shahar Hona (2023). [3] Her 2024 performance in the crime thriller Manvat Murders was highly praised and earned her the NDTV Marathi Entertainment Award for Best Actress.
| Year | Title | Role | Language | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Cheluvi | Cheluvi | Hindi | [4] | |
| 1994 | May Maadham | Sandhya | Tamil | [5] | |
| Mukta | Mukta | Marathi | [6] | ||
| 1995 | Gulabari | Gulabari | Hindi | Television film | |
| Doghi | Krishna | Marathi | [7] | ||
| 1996 | Daayraa | The Girl | Hindi | [8] | |
| Vrindavan Film Studios | Radha | English | |||
| 1999 | Jahan Tum Le Chalo | Namrata Shorey | Hindi | [9] | |
| Gharabaher | Vasudha | Marathi | [10] | ||
| Kairee | Kamli's daughter | Marathi | Bilingual film | ||
| Hindi | |||||
| 2000 | Mission Kashmir | Neelima Khan | Hindi | [11] | |
| Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar | Ramabai Ambedkar | English | [12] | ||
| 2001 | Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya | Geeta Bhatt | Hindi | [13] | |
| Dil Chahta Hai | Pooja | [14] | |||
| Maya: The Reality | Maya | ||||
| 2002 | Kitne Door Kitne Paas | Jaya Patel | [15] | ||
| Chaitra | Krati | Marathi | Short film | ||
| Dil Vil Pyar Vyar | Gauri Shahapukar | Hindi | [16] | ||
| Junoon | Sonali | ||||
| Agni Varsha | Nittilai | ||||
| 2003 | Danav | Lakshmi | |||
| 2004 | 1:1.6 An Ode to Lost Love | Asha | English | ||
| Devrai | Seena | Marathi | [17] | ||
| White Rainbow | Priya Giri | Hindi | [18] | ||
| Bride & Prejudice | Chandra Lamba | English | |||
| Hanan | Devi Bhagwati / Pagli | Hindi | |||
| Silence Please... The Dressing Room | Aparna Sen | Hindi | |||
| 2005 | Love Is Blind | Amisha | Gujarati | ||
| Dansh | Maria | Hindi | |||
| Fuoco su di me | Graziella | Italian | |||
| 2006 | Adharm | Kuldeep's love interest | Hindi | ||
| Taxi Number 9211 | Sunita Shastri | [19] | |||
| Darna Zaroori Hai | Mrs. Talegaonkar | Segment: "Accidents are Never Predicted" | |||
| I See You | Kuljeet | Special appearance | |||
| Restaurant | Janhavi | Marathi | |||
| 2007 | Brinda | Brinda | |||
| Sakhi | Nishi Surve | ||||
| Strangers | Nandini Rai | Hindi | |||
| Ek Krantiveer: Vasudev Balwant Phadke | Bhawani | Marathi | |||
| 2008 | Sirf | Namita | Hindi | [20] | |
| Mumbai Cutting | Sona | Segment: "Parcel" | |||
| Via Darjeeling | Rimli Sharma / Sangeeta | [21] | |||
| 2009 | Gulmohar | Vidya | Marathi | ||
| Gabhricha Paus | Alka | ||||
| Mohandas | Meghna | Hindi | [22] | ||
| Gandha | Raavi | Marathi | Segment: "Aushadh Ghenara Manus" | [23] | |
| Tya Ratri Paus Hota | Gayatri | ||||
| Shadow | Inspector Sanjana Singh Rajpoot | Hindi | |||
| Love Khichdi | Shanta Bheemrao Bhansode | ||||
| Well Done Abba | Malti Jha | [24] | |||
| 2010 | Ringa Ringa | Mansi Nayak | Marathi | [25] | |
| The Camp | Sonali Manthe | Hindi | |||
| 2011 | Singham | Megha Kadam | |||
| Deool | Vahini Saheb | Marathi | |||
| Pratibimba | Gauri / Vasumati | ||||
| Dubhang | Anjali | ||||
| 2013 | Pune 52 | Prachi Apte | [26] | ||
| Konkanastha | Mrs. Gokhale | ||||
| The Good Road | Kiran | Gujarati | [27] | ||
| 2014 | Dr. Prakash Baba Amte - The Real Hero | Dr. Mandakini Amte | Marathi | [28] | |
| 2015 | Aga Bai Arechyaa 2 | Shubhangi Hemant Kudalkar | [29] | ||
| Sugar Salt Ani Prem | Aditi | ||||
| 2017 | Rahenge Sadaa Gardish Mein Taare | Bhavna Dutt | Hindi | ||
| Ti Ani Itar | Naina Godbole | Marathi | |||
| Kachcha Limboo | Shaila Katdare | ||||
| Poster Boys | Sunita Chaudhary | Hindi | |||
| 2018 | Gulabjaam | Radha Agarkar | Marathi | ||
| Hope Aur Hum | Aditi Srivastava | Hindi | |||
| Ani... Dr. Kashinath Ghanekar | Sulochana Latkar | Marathi | |||
| Madhuri | Madhuri | ||||
| 2019 | Bharat | Janki Devi Kumar | Hindi | ||
| 2021 | Pension | Vimal | Marathi | ||
| Toofaan | Sumati Prabhu | Hindi | Special appearance | [30] | |
| 2022 | Dil Dimag Aur Batti | Jaya Desai Gadgill / Hema Mhatre / Rekha | Marathi | [31] | |
| Ticha Shahar Hona | Archana | [32] | |||
| Gajra | Mrs. Agarwal | Hindi | Short film | [33] | |
| 2023 | Sshort And Ssweet | Tanvi | Marathi | [34] | |
| 2024 | Chandu Champion | Journalist | Hindi | [35] | |
| Jo Tera Hai Woh Mera Hai | Rukmini Meghani | [36] | |||
| Love, Sitara | Hema Chechi | ||||
| Out House | [37] | ||||
| 2025 | SuSheela SuJeet | Susheela | Marathi | [38] | |
| Hello Knock Knock Kaun Hai? | Pooja | Hindi | [39] | ||
| 2026 | The Paradise† | TBA | Telugu | Filming | [40] |
| TBA | Hazaar Vela Sholay Pahilela Manus† | TBA | Marathi | Completed | [41] |
| Ravan Calling† | TBA | Marathi | Filming | [42] | |
| The Wives† | TBA | Hindi | Filming | [43] |
| Year | Title | Role | Language | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Badalte Rishtey | Ulka Verma | Hindi | |
| 1996 | Kata Rute Kunala | Meera | Marathi | |
| 1998 | Rishtey | Episodic role | Hindi | |
| 1999–2000 | Star Bestsellers (Kya Yahi Pyaar Hai) | Episodic role | [44] | |
| 2007 | Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 2 | Contestant | [45] | |
| 2008 | Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi 1 | Contestant | [46] | |
| 2010–2011 | Kaali – Ek Agnipariksha | Narrator | ||
| 2016 | Tamanna | Dhara's Advocate | [47] | |
| 2021 | Crime Patrol - Satark | Host | [48] | |
| Mumbai Diaries 26/11 | Mrs. Kelkar | |||
| The Whistleblower | Zainab Parkar | [49] | ||
| 2022 | Bus Bai Bas | Herself | Marathi | |
| Half Pants Full Pants | Padma Subbarao | Hindi | ||
| Dharavi Bank | Janvi Surve | [50] | ||
| 2023 | Crackdown Season 2 | Avantika Shroff | [51] | |
| School of Lies | Pallavi | [52] | ||
| Mumbai Diaries 26/11 – Season 2 | Mrs. Kelkar | [53] | ||
| 2024 | Manvat Murders | Rukmini | Marathi | [54] |
| 2025 | Oops Ab Kya? | Pakhi Jani | Hindi | [55] |
| The TrialSeason 2 | Narayani Dhole | [56] |