Early career (2009–2012) After being seen on the Spar billboard, Kharbanda was cast in a lead role for the Telugu film
Boni opposite
Sumanth. Radhika Rajamani of
Rediff.com wrote, "Kriti Kharbanda looks fresh and pretty and manages to play the part of Pragati in a fairly convincing way. She may have to work on her expressions a bit in future, though". Although the film was unsuccessful at the box office, She landed a prominent role in the
Pawan Kalyan film
Teen Maar. Her next release, however, was her debut
Kannada film,
Chirru. Her performance was mostly well received, with
The Times of India writing that she "excels in her performance". and Indiaglitz.com stating that she "is very pretty and her expressions are good".
IANS wrote that she "looks ravishing in song sequences" and "is good at dancing". The film was a hit at the box office, and Kharbanda stated that it got her recognition and "a fair amount of admiration in the industry", resulting in her being offered numerous projects in Kannada. However, she took a long time to sign her second Kannada film, until October 2011, when she signed up for four films in a single month. In 2011, Kharbanda was seen in a guest role in the successful Telugu romantic comedy
Ala Modalaindi, The following year, she acted in
Mr. Nookayya alongside
Manoj Manchu in Telugu, and in
Prem Adda, a remake of the Tamil film
Subramaniapuram, in Kannada. The latter film featured her in a "completely de-glam" role, with the actress stating that her fair complexion posed a problem to her as she played a small town girl from the 80s. For the film, she also designed her costumes along with her mother. A critic for
Times of India stated that she gives life to her role. In her next Telugu film,
Bhaskar's
Ongole Githa opposite
Ram Pothineni, she played a "typical town girl", Karthik Pasupulate mentioned, "Kriti looks cute and does a decent job of holding her own despite playing a character with little scope to do any acting." Her next release was
Kalyan Ram's
Om 3D, the first 3D action film in Telugu cinema, both films did not perform well at the box office. Kharbanda's career in Kannada, however, saw an upswing with the romantic comedy
Googly, her last release of the year. She portrayed a medical student Swathi opposite
Yash. Her performance was lauded by critics with G. S. Kumar stating, "Kriti has given life to her character." A critic of
Sify in particular, praised Kharbanda, calling her "The heart and soul of the movie...who emerges triumphant on the big screen with some fine acting". The film went on to collect over 15 crores at the box office, emerging as the
third highest-grossing Kannada film of the year. She stated that she received a lot of offers after
Googly including two
Bollywood projects that she had to refuse since she was too busy shooting for her previously signed films. The film earned her
SIIMA Award for Best Actress – Kannada nomination. Following
Googlys success, Kharbanda had three Kannada releases in 2014: Her first release was
Tirupathi Express, a remake of the Telugu film
Venkatadri Express. She played a techie opposite
Sumanth Shailendra. Shashi Prasad noted, "Kriti who has struck hat-trick opportunities after her
Googly success, makes another 'beautiful' comeback while filling the much needed glamour quotient." She then appeared in
Super Ranga opposite
Upendra, playing a modern girl Naina. Her performance fetched her positive reviews and S. Viswanath of
Deccan Chronicle noted, "Kriti, simply adores the screen with her beauty and in the real sense, the beautiful kick for the audience." For the film, she earned the
SIIMA Critics Award for Best Actress - Kannada, alongside nominations for
Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Kannada and SIIMA Best Actress – Kannada award. Kharbanda's final release of the year was
Belli opposite
Shiva Rajkumar.
IB Timess critic found her to be "a treat to watch".
Super Ranga was a box office success, while
Belli became a box office average. Kharbanda's first release in 2015 was opposite
Diganth in
Minchagi Nee Baralu. She received special praise for her performance, with Sunayana Suresh stating that she's the "biggest plus point of the film". She next portrayed an IAS aspirant in the Telugu film
Bruce Lee: The Fighter co-starring
Ram Charan. A critic from
Sify found her to be "apt" in her role. The film was a box office average. She earned nominations for
Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress – Telugu and
SIIMA Award for Best Supporting Actress – Telugu for the film. In 2016, Kharbanda expanded to
Hindi films with
Raaz Reboot opposite
Emraan Hashmi and
Gaurav Arora. The film received mixed reviews and was a box office failure. Kharbanda had four film releases in 2017: She first made her Tamil film debut opposite
G. V. Prakash Kumar in
Bruce Lee. It received negative reviews from critics. The same year, she played the lead in
Maasthi Gudi a Kannada film, opposite
Duniya Vijay. Kharbanda also starred in two Hindi films. Firstly in the comedy drama
Guest London opposite
Kartik Aaryan.
Firstposts Renil Abraham noted, "Kartik Aryan and Kriti Kharbanda looks good and plays the role well. They've been styled well too." She next portrayed a PCS officer in the romantic comedy
Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana opposite
Rajkummar Rao. She received mentions for her performance. A critic from
Bollywood Hungama wrote that she does a much better job here than her previous Hindi releases. While Rachit Gupta of
Filmfare stated that she gave her career's "best performance" in the film.
Guest iin London failed at the box office, while
Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana was a moderate success. Kharbanda had four releases in 2018 too. Her first appearance was in
Karwaan opposite
Dulquer Salmaan. Renuka Vyavahare found her to be "likeable" in her special appearance. She next played the lead in the Kannada film
Dalapathi opposite
Prem. A critic from
Times of India praised her and stated, "Kriti looks like a million bucks, and one wonders why we don't see her on screen as often in Kannada films, given how she effortlessly charms the audience." Her next releases was
Veerey Ki Wedding opposite
Pulkit Samrat, where she played a Punjabi girl. Critic from
Hindustan Times said that she as Geet is "effervescent and pretty", but sadly is "limited" by a badly written script. She delivers what is expected of her. Her final release that year was
Yamla Pagla Deewana: Phir Se opposite
Bobby Deol, where she played a Gujarati surgeon. Jyoti Sharma Bawa wrote, "Kriti plays a Gujarati surgeon who loves her booze and should have had her license revoked a long time back." The film had poor box office returns. Kharbanda starred in two comedy ensembles in 2019. Her first release of the year was the reincarnation comedy
Housefull 4, where she portrayed Rajkumari Meena and Neha opposite Bobby Deol and
Riteish Deshmukh. It became her highest grossing release with a worldwide gross collection of ₹296 crore and was the year's
fourth highest grossing release. Monika Rawal Kukreja opined, "Kriti Kharbanda brings freshness to the screen but, her poor dialogue delivery is distracting." Later that year, she appeared in
Anees Bazmee's
Pagalpanti alongside Pulkit Samrat, playing a gangster's daughter. Critic from
Bollywood Hungama noted, "Of all the heroines, Kriti Kharbanda gets to play an interesting character and she does justice."
Expansion and streaming projects (2020–present) Kharbanda's only release in 2020 was Bejoy Nambiar's
Taish opposite
Jim Sarbh and Pulkit Samrat, which released on
ZEE5 as a feature film and six-episode series. Pallabi Dey Purkayastha mentions, "Kriti, Sanjeeda and Saloni play three very different women standing at three crucial junctions in their respective lives. As Arfa, Kharbanda is a sucker for love and the peacemaker of the livid gang." In 2021, she appeared in ZEE5's
14 Phere, directed by Devanshu Singh opposite
Vikrant Massey, playing a Jatt girl Aditi. Stutee Ghosh of
The Quint wrote, "Kriti Kharbanda as Aditi, has a very thinly written character sketch, but she manages to be charming throughout." Following a four year hiatus from screen, Kharbanda expanded to web with the second season of
Rana Naidu, where she played an ambitious entrepreneur opposite
Himanshu Malhotra and
Rana Daggubati. Sangeetha Devi Dundoo stated, "Kriti is a notable addition, portraying a morally ambiguous character with ease." Mayur Sanap noted, "The most enjoyable of all is Kriti's scheming woman who is just so nonchalant about her nasty ways. It's a delicious character and Kriti plays her with complete relish." Kharbanda will next appear in Abir Sengupta's
Risky Romeo opposite
Sunny Singh. == Personal life ==