Saeed was chosen among two-hundred other children to play Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukerji's daughter in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), in which she played the role of little Anjali. Prior to Kuch Kuch Hota Hai she had refused Rahul Gupta's Hum Panchi Ek Daal Ke, since she could not continue studying while shooting it; Kuch Kuch Hota Hai was shot during her school vacation, for which she won the Sansui Viewer's Choice Awards for Best Child Actress. She next appeared as a child Artist in critically and commercially successful films Badal (2000) and Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega (2000). Saeed also hosted the famous kids program Fox Kids telecasted on Star Plus in which she played the role of Chatur Chachi. She also appeared in television shows such as Babul Ka Aangann Chootey Na on Sony TV and Lo Ho Gayi Pooja Iss Ghar Ki on SAB TV.
In 2012, Saeed made her screen debut in a supporting role in Karan Johar's Student Of The Year along with the main leads Sidharth Malhotra, Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt. She was noticed due to her child star memory in spite of her small role. Film critic Taran Adarsh from Bollywood Hungama wrote, "Sana Saaed looks glamorous and does well". film critic Komal Nahta commented, "Sana Saeed only gets to pout and flaunt her body as Tanya.". The film was released on 19 October 2012 in over 1400 screens across the country and garnered positive to mixed reviews from critics and good box office collections. Boxofficeindia declared the film as a semihit after three weeks. She placed 5th in Nach Baliye 7.
