Sushmita Sen made her debut in the 1996 Indian Hindi language Psychological thriller film ‘Dastak’ directed by Mahesh Bhatt. The film failed to achieve success at the box office. The following year, she starred as ‘Sonia Sriram’ in the Indian Tamil-language romantic action film ‘Ratchagan’ directed by Praveen Gandhi. The film was one of the most expensive films at the time of its release. She next appeared in the 1998 Indian Hindi-language action film ‘Zor’ which was a commercial failure. The year 1999 saw the release of the Indian Hindi-language comedy-drama film ‘Biwi No.1’ where Sen portrayed Rupali Walia. The film was a major box office success and grossed over ₹52.80 crores on a ₹12 crores budget. Sen also received several awards for her performance including the ‘Filmfare Award’ and ‘IIFA Award.’ She next appeared in films like ‘Aaghaaz’ (2000), ‘Kyo Kii... Main Jhuth Nahin Bolta’ (2001), ‘Bas Itna Sa Khwaab Hai’ (2001), ‘Aankhen’ (2002), ‘Tumko Na Bhool Paayenge’ (2002), ‘Samay: When Time Strikes’ (2003), and ‘Praan Jaye Par Shaan Na Jaye’ (2004). In 2004, she starred as ‘Chandni Chopra’ in the Indian Hindi-language masala film ‘Main Hoon Na’ directed by Farah Khan. The film earned praise from critics and was a commercial success.Â
She played the role of ‘Naina Kapoor’ in the 2005 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film ‘Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya?’ The film performed well at the box office and emerged as one of the highest-grossing films of 2005. Sen continued to star in films like ‘Chingaari’ (2006), ‘Zindaggi Rocks’ (2006), ‘Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag’ (2007), ‘Karma Aur Holi’ (2009), ‘Do Knot Disturb’ (2009), ‘Dulha Mil Gaya’ (2010), ‘No Problem’ (2010), ‘F.A.L.T.U’ (2011), and ‘Nirbaak’ (2015). In 2020, she joined the cast of the Indian crime-thriller drama streaming television series ‘Aarya’ as ‘Aarya Sareen.’ The series was released on Disney+ Hotstar in June 2020. She reprised her role as ‘Aarya Sareen’ in the second season of the series which saw its release in December 2021.
