1999-2007: Television, film and theatre debut Barve had her first acting role in the play
Ghar Tighancha Hava, just after having completed school. In 2004, she made her debut in the Marathi film industry with the film
Chakwa, for which she received the
Maharashtra State Film Awards for Most Promising Newcomer of the year. In 2005, Barve played a cameo role in
Amol Palekar's bilingual film
Thang and also worked in the commercial plays
Dehbhaan and
Final Draft. In
Final Draft she played a student who is unable to grasp what the professor teaches at the academy. For
Dehbhaan, she received the award of Most Promising Newcomer of the year at the
Alpha Gaurav Puraskar 2003 and award of Best Supporting Actress of the year at
Alpha Gaurav Puraskar 2005 for the play
Final Draft. Also, Barve was honoured with the awards of Best Actress in the Experimental Theatre of the year at
Alpha Gaurav Puraskar 2005, Best Actress in Commercial Play of the year at
Maharashtra Times Awards 2006 and Best Actress in Commercial Play of the year at
Zee Gaurav Puraskar 2008. Barve next played cameo roles in the films
Shevri (2006),
Blind Game (2006) and
Maati Maay (2006). In 2006, Barve worked in the Marathi TV series
Agnishikha, in which she played the title role. For her work in the play, she received the
Maharashtra State Film Award for Best Actress in a Commercial Play. Barve's next release was
Sawar Re (2007), in which she played Mukta. Barve's next commercial play was Jitendra Patil's debut play
Kabaddi Kabaddi, in which she played a girl who wants to be a
Kabaddi champion like her ostracised uncle, but her father (played by
Vinay Apte) wants her to settle down like his other daughters in the
United States. For her work in the play
Kabaddi Kabaddi, she was given the award for Best Actress in a Commercial Play at the
Zee Gaurav Puraskar (2008),
Maharashtra Times Awards (2007) and
Maharashtra State Film Awards (2007).
2008-2011: Jogwa and success at premiere of Marathi film
Mumbai-Pune-Mumbai In 2008, Barve made a special appearance in the film
De Dhakka and played a cameo role of Parimal Bhosle in the
Hindi film
Saas Bahu Aur Sensex. In 2009, Barve featured in the
Ashok Saraf's producer debut
Ek Daav Dhobi Pachhad (2009), a comedy romance in the role of Sulakshana, who has feelings for her father's enemy's son and lies to her father that she is pregnant in order to visit the U.S. Her next appearance was in
Gajendra Ahire's film
Sumbaran (2009), in which she played a
Dhangar girl named Kalyani. She played Suli, a Jogtin, a happy and innocent girl who is forced into a lifetime of servitude to the local deity, who enters a relationship with Tayappa, a forced
eunuch. To prepare for the role, Barve studied the life of a Jogtin through photographs and by observing day-to-day rural behaviour. Barve's next release was the
Bollywood film
Thanks Maa (2010); she played a cameo role of Lakshmi, a prostitute.
Thanks Maa grossed domestically. In 2010, Barve also starred in
Satish Rajwade's romantic film
Mumbai-Pune-Mumbai, opposite
Swwapnil Joshi. Her character was a girl based in
Mumbai, going to
Pune and lands up meeting Joshi's character. Her next appearance was in the TV show
Agnihotra (2010), in which she played Manjula Shripad Agnihotri. Barve next featured in
Vikram Gokhale's directorial debut,
Aaghaat (2010) as Dr. Smita Deshmukh. For this, Barve won the award for Best Actress at the
Pune International Film Festival (2011). In 2011, she featured in an episode of the Marathi show
Madhu Ethe Ani Chandra Tithe, opposite Swwapnil Joshi. In the episode, she played Gauri, a village belle who is married to a city boy, Siddhanth (played by Swwapnil Joshi). The show received great applause and high TRPs because of the love story between the protagonists - Radha and Ghanshyam. In 2012, Barve worked in Satish Rajwade's
Badam Rani Gulam Chor, an adaptation of the Marathi play
Makadachya Hati Champagne, alongside
Upendra Limaye,
Pushkar Shrotri and Anand Ingale. In 2012, Barve also featured in the film,
Gola Berij, an adaptation of the Marathi book with the same title. She played a cameo role of Nandini Chaubal in the film. The film also had a cast of senior actors like
Prashant Damle,
Mohan Agashe,
Subodh Bhave to name a few. In 2013, Barve worked in two back-to-back hit films, becoming one of the top performers of the year. In 2013, Barve worked in her self-produced commercial play
Chhapa Kata, alongside
Reema Lagoo, later Lagoo was replaced by
Neena Kulkarni. Barve played Maitreyi Bhagwat, who runs a boutique to support the family, and lives a life where she has suppressed all her desires to be able to take care of her mother. For the play
Chhapa Kata, Barve won the awards for Best Play at Deenanath Mangeshkar Awards (2014) and the awards for Best Play and Best Actress at Sanskruti Kaladarpan Awards (2014). Ajay Naik's directorial debut, a romantic musical love story,
Lagna Pahave Karun was Barve's next film release. Co-starring
Umesh Kamat,
Siddharth Chandekar and
Tejashree Pradhan Ketkar, Barve was cast as Aditi Tilak, a wedding planner who wants to start her own marriage bureau. Her next appearance in 2013, was opposite Swwapnil Joshi and alongside
Sai Tamhankar and Kadambari Kadam in
Renu Desai's
Mangalashtak Once More . She played the character Aarti Pathak, romantic, shy girl who surrenders to love.
The Times of India reviewed her performance as "Mukta too excels with her comic timing and dialogue delivery". In 2014, she acted in a Konkani film,
Gunaaji in the role of a shepherd alongside
Upendra Limaye. Barve was cast as Manjiri Naik, an insurance agent and a straightforward, middle-class Maharashtrian girl.
The Times of India reviewed her performance as "Mukta, who too makes a return after two years, is brilliant as ever as the strong-willed, caring and accommodative wife". For her work in the film, she bagged the awards for Best Actress at
Maharashtracha Favourite Kon 2015 and at
Zee Chitra Gaurav 2016. Barve also bagged the most prestigious
Maharashtra State Film Award for Best Actress in 2016, she received a nomination for Best Actress award at Sanskruti Kala Darpan 2016 and she also bagged the award for Best Actress in a Lead Role at Marathi Filmfare Awards 2016 for her work in
Double Seat. Barve's next release was
Amit Trivedi's road drama film,
Highway, alongside many actors where she played a sex worker. Her next appearance was in her self-produced commercial play
Lovebirds, in which she played a character with many grey shades who is a housewife, Devika. Her final release of 2015 was opposite Swwapnil Joshi in
Mumbai-Pune-Mumbai 2, the sequel of the hit film
Mumbai-Pune-Mumbai, in which she reprised her role from the first part, Gauri Deshpande a bad tempered and confused girl to be dealt with. For her work in
Mumbai-Pune-Mumbai 2, Barve received positive reviews from the critics as well as the viewers. For her work in the film, she earned a nomination for the award of Best Actress in a Lead Role at Marathi Filmfare Awards 2016. In 2016, she was honoured with the
Lokmat Maharashtrian of the Year Award in Theatre category for her work in
Marathi theatre. In July 2016, she was honoured with the Chaturastra Abhinetri Award at Nilu Phule Sanman 2016. In 2016, Barve appeared in Atul Jagdale's
Ganvesh, co-starring
Kishor Kadam,
Dilip Prabhavalkar,
Smita Tambe,
Guru Thakur and many more in which she played a tough police inspector, Meera Patil, who is torn between following her duty to respect the khaki uniform and following her seniors' orders. In 2016, she acted in and produced a play titled
Codemantra, an engaging courtroom drama set up against the background of the Indian Army under the banner of
Rasika Productions. In this play, Barve played Ahilya Deshmukh, a military law expert. Through this play, Barve won many honours which include Most Natural Performer of the Year and Special Recognition Play at
Zee Natya Gaurav 2017, Best Play at Maharashtra Times Sanman Awards 2017 and Best Play and Best Actress at Sanskruti Kaladarpan Awards 2017. In mid 2016, Barve featured in Sameer Vidwans'
YZ, alongside
Sai Tamhankar and others.
The Times of India wrote of her performance in the film as " In a small role too, Mukta drives the point home with her expressions." In November 2016, she was honoured with the Tarunai Sanman Puraskar at Pulotsav 2016. In 2017, Barve, under her own production house, produced five shows of the iconic play
Sakharam Binder, specially for her backstage people. In December 2016, Barve signed for Vikram Phadnis' directorial debut film,
Hrudayantar, opposite
Subodh Bhave, which released on 9 July 2017 under the banner of Vikram Phadnis Productions.
The Times of India wrote about Barve's performance in the film as "Mukta, as always, is brilliant". For the film Barve also received nomination in Marathi Filmfare Awards for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Female). As of August 2017, she has started featuring in a Marathi television show named
Rudram, a thriller which airs on
Zee Yuva as Ragini, a woman exacting her revenge on many people. She is seen alongside many popular Marathi artists like
Satish Rajwade,
Mohan Agashe, Sandeep Pathak,
Kiran Karmarkar and
Vandana Gupte. In February 2018, she acted in Pratima Joshi's directorial debut
Aamhi Doghi, alongside
Priya Bapat. The Times of India reviewed her performance as "Mukta lends authenticity to Amala with her restrained portrayal and makes you feel for her". In March 2018, she was honored with the Loksatta Tarun Tejankit award in the film category. She was seen opposite
Swapnil Joshi in December 2018 in the film
Mumbai-Pune-Mumbai 3 which is the sequel of
Mumbai-Pune-Mumbai 2. The film released on 7 December 2018. Her performance in the film was reviewed by
The Times of India as "For Mukta, this is a cakewalk, but she gives it her all. Nothing seems forced in her portrayal". In the year 2019 Barve acted in three films. Firstly she was seen in
Saleel Kulkarni's directorial debut
Wedding Cha Shinema alongside
Rucha Inamdar, Shivaraj Vaychal and others. She played the role of Urvi, an aspiring filmmaker, who wants to make films on serious topics. Ibrahim Afghan from
The Times of India reviewed her performance in the film as "Mukta, has performed sincerely and does well in her role". Subsequently, she acted in the film
Bandishala directed by Milind Lele alongside
Sharad Ponkshe,
Pravin Tarde and many others. In the film she played the role of Madhavi Sawant, a tough police officer, who incurs the wrath of several powerful enemies who plan to get rid of her. Her performance was critically acclaimed as "The whole responsibility of taking the story forward lies on the shoulders of Mukta, who handles it like a pro." For the film Barve bagged Best actress title at
Maharashtra State Film Awards 2019. Her third film in the year was Vikram Phadnis'
Smile Please wherein she played the role of Nandini Joshi, a photographer, who is diagnosed with an early-onset dementia, to find sense of purpose and dignity opposite
Lalit Prabhakar and
Prasad Oak. Mukta Barve starred in a short film called
Devi, which showcased the lives of nine women belonging to different societal backgrounds, who were forced to form a bond due to their circumstances. The film depicted their struggles with abuse and how they came together to share their stories. Mukta's co-stars in the film included
Neha Dhupia,
Neena Kulkarni,
Shivani Raghuvanshi,
Yashaswini Dayama,
Sandhya Mhatre, and Rama Joshi. In 2022, Mukta Barve starred in the Marathi-language thriller film
Y, directed by Ajit Suryakant Wadikar and written by Swapneel Sojwal and Ajit Wadikar. The movie also features
Nandu Madhav,
Prajakta Mali, Omkar Govardhan,
Sandeep Pathak, Rohit Kokate, and Suhas Sirsath. Mukta Barve starred in the Indian Marathi-language drama film
Aapdi Thaapdi, written and directed by Anand Karir. She costarred
Shreyas Talpade,
Sandeep Pathak,
Navin Prabhakar, and Khushi Hazare in the film. Mukta's character, Parvati, is the wife of the protagonist, Sakharam Patil (played by Shreyas Talpade), a farmer who develops a unique friendship with a goat. ==Production and other work==