In 2004, Deol made her debut in Tamil cinema by playing a French teacher in Mani Ratnam's political film Aaytha Ezhuthu opposite Suriya.
She earned critical acclaim for her performance.
Sify.com defined her as "surprisingly fresh and sparkling".
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.
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.

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 movie at the box office.
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.

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. 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."

In 2007, Deol's portrayal of a notorious and vengeful ghost for Ram Gopal Verma's Darling was reviewed positively.
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 two years.
In 2004, Deol made her debut in Tamil cinema by playing a French teacher in Mani Ratnam's political film Aaytha Ezhuthu opposite Suriya. She earned critical acclaim for her performance. Sify.com defined her as "surprisingly fresh and sparkling". 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. 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.
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 movie at the box office. 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. 
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. 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."
In 2007, Deol's portrayal of a notorious and vengeful ghost for Ram Gopal Verma's Darling was reviewed positively. 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 two years.
Esha Deol