Early roles and Telugu films In 1988, while still in the ninth grade, Bharti was signed by filmmaker Nandu Tolani for a film project. She was initially slated to make her debut in
Gunahon Ka Devta (1990), but her role was later cancelled and she was replaced by
Sangeeta Bijlani. Around the same time, Kirti Kumar, brother of actor
Govinda, noticed her at a video rental store and expressed interest in casting her opposite Govinda in
Radha Ka Sangam (1992). Kumar negotiated with director Dilip Shankar to release her from her earlier contract. Despite undergoing months of training in dance and acting, Bharti was eventually replaced by
Juhi Chawla in
Radha Ka Sangam. Media reports speculated that the decision stemmed from concerns over her youthful demeanor and Kumar's alleged possessiveness. Bharti's career was stalled until
D. Ramanaidu, a
Telugu film producer, offered her a leading role in the film
Bobbili Raja opposite his son
Daggubati Venkatesh. Filmed in
Andhra Pradesh, the movie marked her official screen debut and achieved significant commercial success.
Bobbili Raja was released in the summer of 1990 and considered one of the notable Telugu films of the early 1990s. Later, Bharti acted in another Tamil film
Nila Pennae alongside
Anand. The film did not perform well critically or commercially. In 1991, Bharti had back-to-back hits with
action comedy film Rowdy Alludu and drama
Assembly Rowdy opposite actors
Chiranjeevi and
Mohan Babu, respectively. Later that year, Bharti began filming
A. Kodandarami Reddy's action-romance
Dharma Kshetram under the banner of Sri Rajeev Productions. The project marked her first collaboration with Telugu actor
Nandamuri Balakrishna.
Transition to Hindi films and stardom Following her success in
Telugu films, Bharti attracted the attention of leading
Hindi cinema directors. In 1992, Bharti made her Hindi film debut with
Rajiv Rai’s ensemble action-drama
Vishwatma, alongside
Sunny Deol,
Naseeruddin Shah,
Chunky Pandey, and
Sonam. She was cast as Kusum Verma—love interest of Sunny Deol. Released on 24 January 1992, the film was both a commercial and critical success, ranking as the sixth highest-grossing Indian film of the year. The popularity of the song 'Saat Samundar' from the soundtrack received notable attention and became associated with Bharti's early success. In an interview with
Filmfare, Bharti said that she liked her role as Kusum, in the film, describing it as a "very good role". The film was an average box office performer but gained Bharti wider recognition from the public as well as film critics. Bharti was most notable for the song used in the film
Saat Samundar. A week later, Bharti's worked in
Lawrence D'Souza's romantic drama
Dil Ka Kya Kasoor opposite Prithvi. The film failed to do well at the box office but was recognised for its music. In March 1992, her next release was
David Dhawan's romantic
action drama Shola Aur Shabnam. It received positive reviews and was a box office hit, marking Bharti's first major hit in Hindi films. She achieved further success in
Raj Kanwar's
Deewana, which starred veteran actor
Rishi Kapoor and newcomer
Shahrukh Khan. It was one of the biggest hits of 1992. Her performance in
Deewana was highly appreciated. Critics reported that Bharti belonged to a new breed of Hindi film actors who broke away from character stereotypes. Bharti won the
Filmfare Award for Lux New Face of the Year. In 1992, Bharti appeared in several Hindi-language films. These included the action drama
Jaan Se Pyaara opposite
Govinda; romantic drama
Geet opposite
Avinash Wadhawan; action
Dushman Zamana alongside
Armaan Kohli, and action drama
Balwaan that marked the debut of
Suniel Shetty.
Balwaan achieved moderate commercial success. In October of the same year, Bharti featured in
Dil Aashna Hai, a romantic drama directed by
Hema Malini. Although the film did not perform well at the box office, Bharti's portrayal of a bar dancer searching for her birth mother received critical appreciation. Bharti expressed a commitment to continue working in Telugu cinema, aiming to appear in at least one Telugu film annually to maintain her connection with the Telugu audience.
Chittemma Mogudu co-starring Mohan Babu, was released in early 1993. Her final film released during her lifetime was
Kshatriya, an ensemble cast drama featuring Sunny Deol,
Sanjay Dutt, and
Raveena Tandon, which released on 26 March 1993. Following her death, two Hindi films—
Rang and
Shatranj—were released posthumously on 7 July and 17 December 1993, respectively. Both films saw moderate success. Although Bharti had completed filming her scenes, a dubbing artist was used for her voice as she had not recorded her own dialogue. Her incomplete
Telugu film
Tholi Muddhu was partly completed by
Rambha, who slightly resembled Bharti and hence was used as her body double to complete her remaining scenes. The film was released in October 1993. Following Bharti's death in April 1993, several film projects in which she had been cast were completed with other actors. She was replaced in
Mohra by Raveena Tandon, in
Kartavya by
Juhi Chawla, in
Vijaypath by
Tabu, in
Dilwale again by Tandon, in
Andolan by
Mamta Kulkarni, in
Hulchal by
Kajol, and in
Angrakshak by
Pooja Bhatt. Bharti had completed a significant portion of filming for
Laadla, but the role was subsequently reshot with
Sridevi. According to reports, Bharti was initially considered for the role of Simran in
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge and was reportedly director
Aditya Chopra's first choice for the part. She was also signed to portray Kiran Awasthi in
Darr, but was later replaced by Juhi Chawla, reportedly at the request of actor
Aamir Khan. Bharti had also signed on for several film projects that were ultimately shelved following her death. These included
Do Kadam with
Salman Khan,
Kanyadaan with
Rishi Kapoor,
Parinaam with
Akshay Kumar,
Bajrang with
Sunny Deol, and
Chal Pe Chal with
Jackie Shroff. Production on these films did not proceed, and they remained unreleased. == Personal life ==