She participated in the reality show contest Get Gorgeous through which she was offered a contract with Elite Model India Management.

In 2015, Desai booked two high-profile English language projects, The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,[citation needed] a sequel to the 2012 hit[6] and the Netflix drama Sense8 by The Wachowskis and J. Michael Straczynski in which she plays Kala Dandekar.

In April 2018, Tina played the role of Jenny in a short film titled 'Good luck' for Hotstar, directed by Sujoy Ghosh.

Directed by Nikkhil Advani and produced by Emmay Entertainment, it also stars Mohit Raina and Konkona Sen Sharma.

[7] Desai then appeared in crime thriller film Bob Biswas[citation needed] directed by Diya Annapurna Ghosh and produced by Red Chillies Entertainment.