Television, film debut and breakthrough (2003–2012) After her stint in plays, Tamhankar made her television debut with side roles in
Tuzyavina in 2003. But she was recognised in the
ETV Marathi daily soap
Ya Gojirvanya Gharat. She played a tolerant wife opposite Avishkar Darvhekar. Further, she was seen in a few more daily soaps, including a supporting role in
Ekta Kapoor's
Kasturi and a surrogate role in
Anubandh (both in 2007). The same year, she paired opposite
Subodh Bhave and
Shreyas Talpade in
Sanai Choughade. This also marked her debut in the Marathi industry. Critic Ullas Shirke of Marathi Movie World noted, "Twice or thrice Sai’s inexperience can be noticed but in her debut movie she is much promising." She had received
Favourite Actress nomination at
Maharashtracha Favourite Kon. The following year, she was seen in the ensemble
Haay Kaay...Naay Kaay, Sumbaran, and
Be Dune Saade Char. Next, she appeared in
Renuka Shahane's critically acclaimed
Rita. Renuka Vyavahare of
The Times of India remarked on her performance as "effective." In 2010, she portrayed Lady Don opposite
Umesh Kamat in the comedy
Ajab Lagnachi Gajab Gosht, the plot revolving around Rajeev and Priya, who are diametrically opposite to each other, and their whimsical 'Marriage'. She also had a brief appearance in
Mahesh Manjrekar's political thriller bilingual film
City of Gold. Tamhankar in 2011 essayed a helpless wife in the suspense comedy
Don Ghadicha Daav, the remake of
B. R. Chopra's 1973 film
Dhund, which was inspired by
Agatha Christie's 1958 play
The Unexpected Guest. Her next release was Rahul Thackeray directed Raada Rox. Both films were poorly received by critics and audiences. Her final release of that year was
Ankush Chaudhari directed and starred
Zhakaas. The film was a super hit at the box office. The film gained her an
MFK Award for Favourite Supporting Actress nomination. (center) and
Manisha Kelkar (right) at the premiere of
Mission Possible (2010). Next, she played the role of
Bipasha Basu's character from
No Entry (2005) in the Marathi remake titled
No Entry Pudhe Dhokha Aahey. She played the role of a bargirl who acts as the wife of two men. As per the character requirement, she wore a two-piece bikini in the film, which was new and very rare in the Marathi industry.
The Times of India critic called "Tamhankar is the USP of this movie" but criticised her bikini scene and wrote, "She has shown remarkable guts to adorn two piece bikini in Marathi movie, but she lacks the figure and attitude to carry such bold attire." Her other three releases of that year were
Dhagedore, Baburao La Pakda and
Aaghor. In 2013, Tamhankar had ten releases, including
Balak Palak, Ashach Eka Betavar, and
Tendulkar Out. She featured in Nikhil Mahajan's directorial debut thriller film
Pune 52, alongside
Girish Kulkarni and
Sonali Kulkarni. The film was loosely inspired by the 1974 Hollywood classic
Chinatown. She appeared as a sexy, sophisticated woman who desired to be free of her cheating spouse. The film and her role were praised by critics, with a review carried by
DNA mentioned her as "who surprises with a very crisp, controlled performance." Her next release was the acclaimed
Anumati, directed by
Gajendra Ahire. Generally, critics had mixed reviews about her not-so-glamorous role. Following this, she was in a supporting role in
Mahesh Kothare's horror comedy
Zapatlela 2 and Sameer Vidwans' romantic comedy
Time Please. Her eighth release of that year was the romantic musical comedy
Mangalashtak Once More, she depicted the role of a focused office colleague. Ullas Shirke of Marathi Movie World commented, "Tamhankar appeared as friendly appearance, she has a sizable role and she perfectly fits into that character of career minded Sahlini."
Rise to prominence (2013–2017) Tamhankar garnered widespread recognition the same year for her starring role opposite
Swapnil Joshi in
Sanjay Jadhav's romantic drama
Duniyadari. The plot is set against the backdrop of the late 1970s, about college campus, love-hate relationships, and eventually making them realise the true face of life. She portrayed a medical student who falls in love with Joshi's character.
Duniyadari emerged as a major success with a cult status and a revenue of ₹30 crore (US$5.12 million), becoming a record of the highest grossing Marathi film of that time which was broke by
Timepass (2014). Ullas Shirke of Marathi Movie World described her as "Tamhankar has found an important role to display her real acting skills. Till now, she was being used more as a glamour girl." She won the
Maharashtra State Film Awards for Best Special Appearance Actress, the
Zee Chitra Gaurav Puraskar for Best Actress and the
MFK Award for Favourite Actress. Her last release was the Hindi political drama
Wake Up India. Her first release in 2014 was
Sau Shashi Deodhar, a story about a woman struggling in her life due to a car accident. She plays the woman who goes through split personality disorder due to an accident. The critic wrote, "Sai’s confused and troubled state of mind is reflected in her emotions." She once again collaborated with Ahire for
Postcard about human relationships. The film had its premier at the Goa Film Festival in 2013 and its theatrical release in April 2014.
The Hollywood Reporter ascribed, "The nosy, laughing Tamhankar also surprises: by the end of the film, she’s the mother of two who pens stories as avidly as she once read private mail." She was next featured in the romantic drama
Guru Pournima, a love story between a creative director, Guru, and a struggling actress, Pournima. The film had been shot in
Goa and had faced controversy due to its title. Mihir Bhanage of TOI observed, "Sai is one actress who does well in whatever role she is given, and she doesn’t disappoint in her double role either" and concluded, "She is charming as the lover interest and effervescent as the daughter of Guru." Paloma Sharma of
Rediff wrote, "Tamhankar play both mother and daughter seemed risky at first, the actress manages to pull it off with ease. Her physical transformation for both roles is worth applause." She was awarded the Best Actress Award at Sanskruti Kaladarpan. Next, she portrayed Professor in
Manava Naik directed
Por Bazaar, based on child trafficking. After the success of
Duniyadari, the trio Jadhav, Joshi, and Tamhankar collaborated on the romantic
Pyaar Vali Love Story. Upon release, the film received mixed reviews and moderate success at the box office. In 2015, she appeared in a tomboy look in
Aditya Sarpotdar's coming-of-age romantic drama
Classmates, the official remake of the 2006
Malayalam film
of the same name. The film features an ensemble cast of Choudhary,
Sachit Patil,
Sonalee Kulkarni, and
Siddharth Chandekar. Overall, the film and the performances were well acclaimed. Keyur Seta of The Common Man Speaks praised the film and wrote, "Tamhankar proves to be effective once again in two starkly opposite characters." Jitendra More of Marathi Movie World found, "She suits well in the role of possessive Appu, but her performance is more dependent on the dialogues offered to her."
Classmates grossed over ₹21 crore worldwide, becoming one of the highest-grossing Marathi films of the year. Her role won her the
MFK Award for Favourite Supporting Actress and nominations at the
Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress Marathi and the Zee Chitra Gaurav Puraskar for Best Supporting Actress. Her other two Marathi film releases were
3:56 Killari and
Tu Hi Re, opposite
Jackie Shroff and Joshi, respectively
. She was seen as a housewife in the Hindi adult comedy
Hunterrr, opposite
Gulshan Devaiah. The story revolves around an unassuming sex addict and his lustful journey in life. Raja Sen of
Rediff said, "Tamhankar brings power to the role of the attractive neighbourhood bhabhi"
Hunterrr earned over ₹11.2 crore worldwide against a production budget of ₹3 crore. Her first release of 2016 was
Sameer Vidwans directed
YZ, she played a religiously homely girl in it. Ganesh Matkari of the
Pune Mirror noted, "Tamhankar as Parnrekha is cast against type, which helps the character immensely." She next portrayed the youngest daughter of the Sabnis family, who had married a man of a different caste and age, unwilling to her father's wish, in the
Vandana Gupte produced family drama film
Family Katta. The film was highly acclaimed by critics and the audience. She won the Filmfare Marathi Award and Sanskruti Kaladarpan in the Best Supporting Actress category. The same year, she was seen in
Girish Kulkarni's comedy
Jaundya Na Balasaheb. For her performance, she won the second MFK Award for Favourite Actress. Her last release was slice-of-life
Vazandar, alongside
Priya Bapat. Tamhankar took on the role of a newlywed lady who sticks to the traditions of her in-law’s family, portraying beautifully the life of a woman who loves the comfort of her home but also wants to break free and take her own decisions on her own. Amruta Deshpande of Indian Nerve wrote that Sai "does complete justice to her role." The following year, she had only one release
Malayalam-
Tamil bilingual anthology film,
Solo. She had a brief role in the part featuring
Dulquer Salmaan titled
World of Siva.
Recognition in Hindi films and web series (2018–present) '' (2018). In 2018, she worked with
Sharad Kelkar in the fantasy thriller
Rakshas. The plot revolves around a missing documentary filmmaker and his daughter’s quest to bring him back. Mihir Bhanage of The Times of India found Tamhankar's worried wife "fantastic." She next was seen playing Anjali, a pimp in
Love Sonia, for which she had to gain 10 kg of weight.
Love Sonia had its world premiere at the
London Indian Film Festival. Upon release, the film gained positive reviews but failed commercially. Her final release was adult coming-of-age
Ashleel Udyog Mitra Mandal, in which she depicted the controversial fictional character
Savita Bhabhi. Mihir Bhanage of
The Times of India bemoaned that "there’s not much for her to do here." These films were not so well performed at the box office. Tamhankar had two film releases
Girlfriend and
Kulkarni Chaukatla Deshpande.
Girlfriend is based on the pressure youngsters face when it comes to being in a romantic relationship and plays a title role in
Kulkarni Chaukatla Deshpande, who is a rebellious middle-class girl. The film focuses on her relationships and unfolds the journey of different relations on the path of her life. In 2020, she won the
Filmfare Award for Best Actress Marathi for the political drama
Dhurala, opposite Chaudhari. Abhay Salvi of Marathi Stars wrote, "Tamhankar again hits it out of the park with her extremely sensitive performance!" In 2021, Tamhankar and
Lalit Prabhakar were paired together in three projects, including
Sony LIV's web series
Pet Puran,
Lokmat critics praised the series and commented, "Aditi's role is very well performed by Sai, a different Sai is seen in it" and two films. Their first release was
Mohit Takalkar's
Medium Spicy. Mihir Bhanage opined that "as Gowri adds yet another interesting and noteworthy character to her repertoire" and
Colorphool, a soft-hearted romantic film. She gained widespread recognition for her role as Muslim friend Shama to
Kriti's character in
Laxman Utekar's comedy drama
Mimi. The film is a remake of the 2011 National Award-winning Marathi film
Mala Aai Vhhaychy!. For her role, she learned Urdu as well as the Rajasthani dialect for her role. It was directly released on streaming platform
Netflix and
JioCinema and was highly acclaimed.
Taran Adarsh of
Bollywood Hungama mentioned, "Tamhankar lends able support and leaves a huge mark as a supportive friend" and Jyoti Kanyal of
India Today added, "Sai Tamhankar, who plays Mimi's best friend Shama, plays her part to the T."
Mimi won her various accolades, including the
Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress and the
IIFA Award for Best Supporting Actress. That year, she was also seen in the second season of the Marathi web series
Samantar 2. Scroll.in reviewer found her most memorable character of the series, and the Tamil language anthological series
Navarasa, where she played the wife of
Vijay Sethupathi. Next, she starred alongside
Vaibhav Tatwawadi and
Amruta Khanvilkar in
Sachin Kundalkar's relationship drama
Pondicherry. It was the first Marathi and one of the first Indian feature films to be shot completely on a smartphone. Her role as a young widow mother running a homestay at an old family villa in
Pondicherry received her
Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress and Pravah Picture Award for Best Actress wins, as well as nominations at the Sakal Premier Awards, Planet Marathi Film & OTT Awards, and
Fakt Marathi Cine Sanman. Suyog Zore of Cinestaan called it "the best performance of her career" and wrote, "With just a look, she conveys the emotional turmoil of Nikita—the silent sobs, her sleepless nights and the longing for someone she can share her pain with." Her next release was
Madhur Bhandarkar's multi-starrer
India Lockdown, showcasing the repercussions of the
COVID-19 lockdown in India and how the people of the country struggled through it. Shubhra Gupta of
The Indian Express commented on her performance, saying she "immerses herself into the character" In 2024, Tamhankar alongside Chandekar played the title character in romantic drama
Sridevi Prasanna, in which she girl who comes from a filmi family in search of love marriage. Kalpeshraj Kubal of
The Times of India noted "Sai's eyes speak a thousand words even in scenes that she has no lines in." She next starred as a supportive police officer in the
Netflix crime thriller film
Bhakshak which was based on the
Muzaffarpur shelter case.
Hindustan Times' Monika Kukreja wrote "Tamhankar as SSP Jasmeet Kaur is a very thoughtful addition to the cast, and she brings intensity and gravitas to the story." That same year, she starred alongside
Ashutosh Gowariker in the crime-thriller web series
Manvat Murders. Based on a true crime case from 1972, the series examined seven brutal murders in a rural Maharashtra town, with Tamhankar playing Samindri, a subdued, emotionally torn young woman entangled in the family’s silence surrounding the crimes. Reviewing the show,
Deepa Gahlot of
Rediff.com wrote, "Tamhankar, as the reluctantly obedient sister, gets the better scenes and gives an excellent performance." This was followed by action-oriented roles in Aditya Sarpotdar’s mystery thriller series
The Secret of the Shiledars and Netflix’s crime drama series
Dabba Cartel. She then played the female lead in the Hindi action film
Ground Zero, portraying the wife of
BSF officer
Narendra Nath Dhar Dubey, played by
Emraan Hashmi; however, the film underperformed commercially. She also appeared in the Marathi ensemble comedy
Gulkand, which emerged as one of the
highest-grossing Marathi films of the year, earning ₹8.14 crore worldwide. Santosh Bhingarde of
Sakal noted her usual style and wrote, "There is experience and understanding of emotions woven into each of her frames." == Other work ==