Her most notable and popular appearance as a child artist was in the year 1967 in the musical superhit Hamraaz, where she was seen as the daughter of Vimi named baby Saarika.

She played Ipsita Ray Chakraverti in the film Sacred Evil – A True Story which failed at the box office.

Her performance in Parzania in which she plays the role of a Zoroastrian woman who loses her child during the 2002 riots of India, earned her the National Film Award for Best Actress.

Khalid Mohamed wrote for Hindustan Times of her performance, "Sarika is marvelously restrained and lifelike, making you care for Parzania straight from the heart.

Sarika made her television debut in Sony TV's Yudh which stars Amitabh Bachchan in the lead role.