One half of the acclaimed director duo of Sumitra Bhave and Sunil Sukthankar, Sumitra is a veteran who is noted for her work in Marathi cinema and Marathi theatre industry. The winner of several national and international accolades, Sumitra after completing her education, started to do voluntary work with several social welfare and humanitarian organizations. She also worked as a teacher at the Karve Institute of Social Service, Pune for about 10 years before eventually working as a Marathi-language newsreader.

Sumitra Bhave`s tryst with filmmaking began in 1985 while she was working as the Director of a research project for Stree Vani; she made a short film titled Bai, which was about a slum dweller who shows immense survival spirit in times of extreme adversities. The film won several awards including National Film Award for Best Non-Feature Film on Family Welfare at the 33rd National Film Awards. Sumitra Bhave made her feature film directorial debut with Doghi (1995), which also marked her maiden collaboration with Sunil Sukthankar. The film received wide critical acclaim as well as won several awards including the National Film Award for Best Film on Other Social Issues at the 43rd National Film Awards. Some of her other notable film credits include Devrai (2004), Gho Mala Asala Hawa (2009), Ha Bharat Maza (2012), Astu - So Be It (2013) and Kaasav, a National Award-winning film, which was showcased at the Mumbai Film Festival in 2016. The film starring Iravati Harshe, Alok Rajwade, Kishor Kadam and Mohan Agashe released in the theatres in October 2017. Her 2021 release includes the musical drama movie The Disciple, directed by Chaitanya Tamhane. Sumitra Bhave passed away on 19th April 2021.