Kulkarni made her Bollywood film debut in the 1992 movie Tiranga. In 1993 she starred in Aashiq Awara which won her a Filmfare Lux New Face Award. She went to appear in many other films such as Waqt Hamara Hai (1993), Krantiveer (1994), Karan Arjun (1995), Sabse Bada Khiladi (1995) and Ghatak: Lethal (1995) which did well at the box office.
Her luck seemed to have changed when Rajkumar Santoshi, in whose earlier movie Ghatak: Lethal (1996) she had a cameo appearance, cast her as the female lead in his 1998 movie China Gate, an ambitious remake of The Magnificent Seven. In a deglamourised role and sharing screen space with some of Hindi cinemas finest actors, she had the perfect opportunity to showcase her acting talent.
