She usually played the sister or rejected fiancée of the male lead, but almost never the female lead. One of her most critically acclaimed roles is in Bobby, where she played the part of the mentally challenged would-be fiancée of Rishi Kapoor. During the 1980s, her roles progressed from sister and girlfriend to aunt, mother, or grandmother. She is also remembered for her part in Aradhana, in which she plays Rajesh Khanna's girlfriend, and sings the song "Bagon me bahar hai, kaliyon pe nikhar hai".