She made her debut in the 2007 film Ondu Preethiya Kathe, following which she appeared in Eddelu Manjunatha, a performance that won her a Filmfare Special Award.
[2] Known for portraying deglamorous and serious roles, she went on to appear in other critical and commercial successes such as Love Guru (2009), Kalla Malla Sulla (2011) and Ulidavaru Kandanthe (2014).
Her first role was in Sugreeva, in which she was cast opposite Shiva Rajkumar as his wife and of a mother to a wannabe Michael Jackson.
[11] In her next film, she starred in a supporting role as Sharada, a fishwife and the love interest of Munna (played by Kishore) in Ulidavaru Kandanthe, a critical success but a commercial failure.
[13] As of March 2015, Shetty has the delayed project Love Junctionand H/34 Pallavi Talkies up for release.
[14][15] She is currently filming with Ramabai, playing the titular role, a biographical film on the life of Ramabai, the first wife of social reformer B. R. Ambedkar[16] and Ram Gopal Varma's Killing Veerappan as Muthulakshmi, the wife of slain forest brigand, Veerappan.