[12] She went to school at Lowther Hall in Essendon where she obtained an academic scholarship[12] and at the age of 16 commenced her LLB and BA (Media & Communications) & Diploma in Modern Languages (French) at the University of Melbourne, graduated with honours at 21.

[20][21][22] She next starred in the comedic-drama film, Dus Tola (2010) opposite acclaimed actor Manoj Bajpayee, in which she played the role of Geeta, a village dance teacher.

Directed by Vibhu Puri and co-starring Ayushmann Khurrana and Mithun Chakraborty, the film is inspired by the true events of Shivkar Bapuji Talpade, who is believed to have flown an unmanned aircraft in 1895 Bombay.

[30] Sharda received critical acclaim for her portrayal of Gulabo, a sex worker in rural Punjab, at the time of Pakistan's partition from India.

Pallavi is currently starring in Beecham House, ITV's historical drama series directed by Gurinder Chadha[33][34] and the ABC-TV comedy Retrograde.

In 2022 Pallavi starred in the Australian award-winning drama The Twelve opposite Sam Neil,[35] this garnered her a Logie nomination for Most outstanding supporting actress for her portrayal of 24 year old Corrie D’souza – a head juror marred by her own story of PTSD in 2023.

[36] She also starred in the Audible original The Missed, written by Sami Shah[37] Sharda is working on her first book, currently untitled, that explores her identity struggles as an Indian girl living in Australia.

[20] Sharda is on the board of advisers for e-Kutir, a social entrepreneurship company focused on improving the lives of Indians using the 'base of pyramid' model.