Sandeep Kulkarni is an Indian actor who works in Hindi and Marathi films.^[1]

Kulkarni was born in Pune, Maharashtra to Shrikant and Lata Kulkarni. He was raised in a middle-class Marathi Deshastha Brahmin family. He attended the J. J. School of Arts in Mumbai.^[2]

After working in theatre for four years in English, Marathi and Hindi productions, he started to work in television. He played varied roles including a young Muslim lawyer in the TV Serial 9 Malabar Hill, which aired on Zee TV, a press reporter in Farz, which aired on DD Metro, an underworld don in the Doordarshan channel Swabhimaan and a counselor in Nyay. He also played the role of a cop who solves the mystery behind an old couple refusing to accept the dead body of their son in the one-hour suspense thriller First Kill directed by Sriram Raghavan. He also played a small role in CID.

His first film role was in the 1994 film Mammo, directed by Shyam Benegal, set against the backdrop of the India-Pakistan partition (1947). He played the role of an immigration officer who tries to help the protagonist Mammo. In 1999, he acted in the film Shool.

He played the role of a gangster, Shankar in the 1996 film Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin, directed by Sudhir Mishra. In 1998, he played a naxalite turned activist in the film Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa, directed by Govind Nihalani. In 2004, he acted in the critically acclaimed Shwaas, which earned him recognition. He played the role of a oncologist who convinces the grandfather of a child suffering from eye cancer to agree to a life saving surgery although he is faced with the possibility that the child may become permanently blind. The film earned numerous awards such as the National Award for Best Film, as well as being India's official entry to the Oscars. Actress Shabana Azmi praised the actor's performance.

In 2005, he acted in the film Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi, directed by Sudhir Mishra, where he played a Naxalite leader, involved in spreading the Naxalite Movement from Bangladesh to India. The same year he acted in the critically acclaimed Dombivli Fast, directed by Nishikant Kamat, which won the National Award for Best Film. He also played the role of Pandurang Sadashiv Sane, an Indian freedom fighter in his biopic.

In 2006, he acted in the film Traffic Signal, directed by Madhur Bhandarkar, where he played the role of a NGO volunteer helping street children. In 2009, he acted in the Marathi film Made In China where he played the role of a farmer. That same year he won the Best Actor Award at the Nigerian International Film Awards for his role in the film Ek Daav Sansaracha. In the film he played the role of a husband whose failing marriage causes problems in his personal life.

In 2010, he acted in the thriller The Waiting Room. In 2013, he acted in the film D-Day,