Apte’s first starring role was in the 2009 Bengali social drama Antaheen. She made her Marathi film debut in 2009 with the tragic romance Samaantar. She gathered widespread praise for her supporting work in three of her 2015 Bollywood productions including the thriller Badlapur, the comedy Hunterrr, and the biographical film Manjhi – The Mountain Man. Her leading roles in the 2016 independent films Phobia and Parched earned her further acclaim. In 2018, Apte starred in three Netflix productions—the anthology film Lust Stories, the thriller series Sacred Games, and the horror miniseries Ghoul.