While in college, Kavya did a few modelling assignments following appearances in several television commercials. She later moved to Bangalore and took part in 2011 Femina Miss India beauty pageant, winning the 'Miss Photogenic' title. She was also a finalist at the Ford Super Model of the World – India contest held at New Delhi in 2011. She was noticed by fashion guru Prasad Bidapa and subsequently walked the ramp for several designers, most notably at the 'Blenders Pride Bangalore Fashion Week' in 2011 and 2012 and Chennai InternationalFashion Week 2011. She also worked as a commercial model and appeared in several print and television advertisements. A few of her most notable endorsements in print are for Reliance Jewels, Malabar Gold, VBJ, Palam Silks, Psr and Club Mahindra. Her television advertisements include those for Clinic Plus, Toyota Altis, Santoor and TVS Victor. In 2012, Kavya entered the Indian film industry. She first signed to Shivani, a bilingual horror flick, made in Telugu and Tamil, in which she played a journalist. However, the delay of this film meant that Shetty's maiden release was the Kannada film Nam Duniya Nam Style by Preetham Gubbi. While the film received mixed reviews, critics noted that Shetty had "given lively performance" and "show tremendous promise". Her future releases include the semi-period Kannada film Vijayaaditya. She has also been cast as one of the female leads in A. L. Vijay's next Tamil film, which according to Shetty is a "fun-filled" romantic drama set against a college backdrop. Her success in Ishtakamya increased her fame in Sandalwood, with the movie running blockbuster directed by well known filmmaker Nagathihalli Chandrashekar. She since signed three movies scheduled to release in 2017: Smile Please, starring Gurunandan opposite Kavya Shetty; MMM', with Aru Gowda; and Silicon City, with Srinagar Kitty. Kavya Shetty launched her exclusive clothing and jewellery brand, Kassh on June 2019. Niharika Vivek and Poornima Shetty are her co-partners. In a short span since the launch, the jewellery collection and clothing line has created a niche for itself in the market and is already in demand. Aadyaa Foundation believes that education is the fundamental right of every child. Kavya Shetty is actively connected with the Aadyaa Foundation and she enjoys spending time with the kids and providing them with food on the weekends.
