Dimple Kapadia made her film debut in the 1973 Hindi-language musical romance 'Bobby' directed by Raj Kapoor. The film was a phenomenal box office success and went on to become one of the highest-grossing Indian films of 1973. Kapadia also won a ‘Filmfare Award for Best Actress' for her performance in the film. After taking almost a decade-long hiatus, she returned to the big screen with the 1984 Hindi-language action film ‘Zakhmi Sher.’ The following year, she starred as ‘Mona D'Silva’ in the Ramesh Sippy-directed Hindi-language romantic drama film ‘Saagar.’ The film opened to critical acclaim and became India's official entry for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. ‘Saagar’ also marked the comeback of Dimple Kapadia.
Following her comeback, she appeared in films like ‘Vikram’ (1986), ‘Insaniyat Ke Dushman’ (1987), ‘Kaash’ (1987), ‘Saazish’ (1988), ‘Gunahon Ka Faisla’ (1988), and ‘Ganga Tere Desh Mein’ (1988). In the 1989 Hindi-language masala film ‘Ram Lakhan,’ directed by Subhash Ghai, Kapadia played the role of ‘Geeta Kashyap.’ The film earned praise from critics and was a massive box office success. In 1991, she starred as ‘Kiran’ in the Nana Patekar-directed Indian Hindi-language action drama film ‘Prahaar: The Final Attack.’ The film earned positive reviews from critics and was nominated for 'Best Story' at the ‘37th Filmfare Awards.’
Kapadia starred as ‘Shanichari’ in the 1993 Hindi-language drama film ‘Rudaali.’ She received wide acclaim for her performance in the film and won several awards, including the ‘National Film Award’ and the ‘Filmfare Award.’ The following year, she bagged another ‘Filmfare Award’ for her performance as ‘Megha Dixit’ in the action crime film ‘Krantiveer’ directed by Mehul Kumar. She went on to star in films like ‘Share Bazaar’ (1997), ‘2001: Do Hazaar Ek’ (1998), ‘Dil Chahta Hai’ (2001), ‘Hum Kaun Hai?’ (2004), ‘Being Cyrus’ (2006), ‘Jumbo’ (2008), ‘Luck by Chance’ (2009), ‘Dabangg’ (2010), and ‘Cocktail’ (2012). In 2014, she appeared in the satirical road comedy film ‘Finding Fanny’ as Mrs. Rosalina 'Rosie' Eucharistica. The film earned critical acclaim upon release and Kapadia received a ‘Filmfare Award’ nomination for her performance.
In the 2020 science fiction action thriller film ‘Tenet,’ directed by Christopher Nolan, Kapadia made her Hollywood debut. She is all set to appear in the upcoming Indian Hindi-language superhero film ‘Brahmāstra’ directed by Ayan Mukerji.