Esha Deol

Debut and early work (2002–2003)

She started her acting career in a lead role with Vinay Shukla's Koi Mere Dil Se Poochhe (2002) opposite Aftab Shivdasani, with Sanjay Kapoor, Jaya Bachchan and Anupam Kher playing supporting roles. The movie was a box office failure. Deol received mixed reactions from critics upon her performance. Savera R Someshwar of Rediff.com wrote "Esha, as a person, exudes a confidence that almost borders on arrogance."^[12] Rakesh Budhu of Planet Bollywood wrote "She isn't horrible, but given the hype, the demands and of course, comparisons, she surely isn't up to the mark. … Of course, she is nowhere close to being a washout and if you are her fan you can appreciate the other aspects of her performances without completely losing faith in her future projects."^[13] Despite mixed reactions and box office failure, Deol won numerous awards for her performance including the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut at the 48th Filmfare Awards.^[2]

Deol's second film was Arjun Sablok's love triangle Na Tum Jaano Na Hum opposite Saif Ali Khan and Hrithik Roshan. Taran Adarsh of IndiaFm praised her acting and wrote "it is Esha Deol who surprises you with a mature performance. Although her looks are inconsistent, the youngster takes on the role with utmost sincerity and comes out with a natural performance. She has been better presented when compared to her debut film."^[14] Bhavna Giani of Rediff praised Deol's acting and dancing and compared it to Deol's mother Hema Malini.^[15] Deol's third and final release of the year was Sanjay Chhel's Kyaa Dil Ne Kahaa opposite Tusshar Kapoor. It was Deol's third consecutive flop but she earned critical acclaim and Taran Adarsh observed that it was her better performance as compared to her previous two films.^[16]

Deol's first two movies of 2003: Kucch To Hai and Chura Liyaa Hai Tumne were box office failures. For Kucch To Hai, Deol earned mixed reviews from Taran Adarsh, who wrote "Esha Deol shows improvement in terms of performance as well as her overall appearance."^[17] Taran Adarsh considered Deol to be "alright" in Chura Liyaa Hai Tumne.^[18]

Deol was one of the heroines of J.P. Dutta's multi starrer war epic LOC: Kargil and was paired with Abhishek Bachchan. Though Deol and all the other heroines could not get much scope, she earned critical acclaim for her performance.^[19][20] The film became the sixth highest-grossing film of the year.^[21]

Breakthrough and career struggles (2004–2008)

In 2004, Deol made her debut in Tamil cinema by playing a French teacher in Mani Ratnam's political film Aayutha Ezhuthu opposite Suriya. She earned critical acclaim for her performance. Sify.com defined her as "surprisingly fresh and sparkling".^[22] To prepare for her role, Deol learned nuances of the language with Mani Ratnam's assistant R. Kannan. This was the only Tamil film she ever acted in. After completing Aaytha Ezhuthu, Deol started filming the Hindi version of the movie titled Yuva.^[23] In Yuva, Deol repeated the same role and was paired opposite Ajay Devgn. Both movies were released on the same date but could not attain success. Yuva had a below average opening and flopped at the box office.^[24]

Deol finally got her breakthrough with Yash Raj Films' action film Dhoom opposite Abhishek Bachchan, John Abraham, Uday Chopra and Rimi Sen. It was Deol's first action role and she was paired opposite Chopra. The film had a decent opening and became a hit at the box office, becoming the fourth-highest-grossing film of the year.^[24] Deol did not get much scope in the film, but her performance earned her a nomination for the IIFA Award for Best Supporting Actress at the 6th IIFA Awards.^[25]

After the success of Dhoom, Deol starred in Krishna Vamsi's war film Insan opposite Akshay Kumar. It was Deol's first release of 2005. The film was a failure at the box office. Her next release was Main Aisa Hi Hoon opposite Ajay Devgn. The film was a remake of the Hollywood movie I Am Sam (2001). Deol played a supporting role and earned praise by Patcy N.^[26] Subhash K. Jha of IANS also praised Deol, writing: "Esha Deol as the fey unstable nomadic and maladjusted Maya is a mix of Zeenat Aman in Hare Rama Hare Krishna and Anooradha Patel in Ijaazat. Playing this zonked-out character Esha Deol comes into her own as an actress. Her far-way looks of pain, anger, neglect and insecurity remain with you long after the film. Yup she too has matured along with Hindi cinema."^[27]

In 2007, Deol's portrayal of a notorious and vengeful ghost for Ram Gopal Verma's Darling was reviewed positively.^[28] Her next release was Cash again opposite Ajay Devgn. In 2008, she performed her first item number in Ajay Devgn's film Sunday. She further appeared in Hijack and took a sabbatical break from films for 3 years.

Hiatus and television debut (2011–2015)

Deol's next film was Tell Me O Kkhuda (2011) directed and produced by her mother Hema Malini. She portrayed the lead role in the film opposite Arjan Bajwa with Vinod Khanna, Rishi Kapoor and her father Dharmendra playing supporting roles.^[29][30] Despite having many veteran actors in the film, it failed miserably at the box office and having coming back to movies with this film after three years, the film actually drowned her career even more causing a second hiatus in her career.

Deol then made her Television debut in 2015 with reality TV show MTV Roadies as one of the judges in the show. The same year she appeared in a kannada-hindi language film Kill Them Young. It was Deol's first film in nearly four years. The film largely went unnoticed. After this Deol went on a third career hiatus.

Comeback to acting and expansion to OTT (2021–present)

Deol made a comeback to acting in 2021 and released her short film Ek Duaa in which she acted and also produced alongside her then husband. The film was released on Voot, and it was met with mixed to positive reviews.

Deol reunited with Ajay Devgan in the 2022 web series Rudra: The Edge of Darkness which marked her comeback.^[31][32] In 2023, She appeared alongside Suniel Shetty in the series Hunter Tootega Nahi Todega.^[33]

Films

• All films are in Hindi unless otherwise noted.

Television