[1] Kulkarni began her career as a model and dancer, making her acting debut in the Marathi television series Ha Khel Sanchitacha (2006) and subsequently in the film Gauri (2006).
Her performance in the Tamasha drama film Natarang (2010), where she portrayed the dancer Nayna Kolhapurkarin, earned her widespread recognition and the title "Apsara of Marathi Industry."
Throughout the 2010s, Kulkarni appeared in several notable films, including Nitin Chandrakant Desai's Ajintha (2012), the horror comedy Zapatlela 2 (2013), the ensemble coming-of-age Classmates (2015), the thriller Shutter (2015), and the drama Poshter Girl (2016).
She continued to experiment with various genres in Marathi, earning acclaim for her performances as an unhappy girl in Hampi (2017), the dissatisfied wife in Tula Kalnnaar Nahi (2017), and the brave mother in Hirkani (2019), the latter of which won her the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress.
[4] Kulkarni started her career as a model and dancer, and while doing a small role in a docu-drama in FTII, she first witnessed a motion picture camera, which sparked her interest in acting.
[5] The same year, she made her film debut with a title role in Gauri (2006), where she played an innocent and open-minded girl who falls ill suddenly and undergoes treatment in a shepherd's house.
On the sets of Ha Khel Sanchitacha, she was offered Gadhvacha Lagna, where she did a cameo as Apsara Rambha in a dance number called Indra Darbari, Nache Sundari.
The film tells a love story between a Marathi Buddhist tribal Paro (played by Kulkarni) and British Major Robert Gill, an artist, while he visited India to paint historical monuments and scriptures.
The film was well received by critics, Shakti Salgaokar of DNA wrote, "One can't help but notice that Kulkarni flaunts her body in revealing outfits with much grace.
"[15] Keyur Seta of The Common Man Speaks, calling it a "picturesque saga," wrote, "Kulkarni moulds herself brilliantly in the role of Paro and expresses every emotion with ease.
[23] Mihir Bhanage of The Times of India, for her portrayal, wrote, "Sonalee sans makeup plays her role of a girl trapped between love and marital ties well"[24] The film collected ₹13.5 crore (US$1.7 million) at the box office.
But the lack of depth to her character limits Kulkarni,"[29] and Mihir Bhanage of The Times of India wrote, "Sonalee brings authenticity to her role by underplaying it and yet catching your attention throughout.
Her next film was Tula Kalnnaar Nahi opposite Subodh Bhave, the story revolves around love and hate relationship of husband and wife.
Hirkani, the historical drama directed by Prasad Oak about a brave woman and an amazing mother who lived near the Raigad Fort in Maharashtra during the regime Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
The actress sheds her glam image and delivers a beautiful performance, so much that you start associating her with the real character that the movie is based on.
[39] Kulkarni first release of 2021 was Hemant Dhome's drama film Jhimma, the story about a group of seven women travelling to United Kingdom and discovering themselves, starred alongside an ensemble cast of Suhas Joshi, Nirmiti Sawant, Siddharth Chandekar, Kshitee Jog, Suchitra Bandekar, Mrinmayee Godbole and Sayali Sanjeev.
[43] In 2022, she collaborated with Sanjay Jadhav for musical drama Tamasha Live, she played a budding reporter who dreams of working with a popular news anchor.