Balan, who began her career starring in many music videos, soap operas and
commercials, made her acting debut in the Bengali film, Bhalo Theko (2003), for
which she won critical acclaim. She later made her Hindi film debut with
Parineeta (2005), for which she received a Filmfare Best Female Debut Award, and
received her first commercial success with Rajkumar Hirani's Lage Raho Munna
Bhai (2006). Balan has thus established herself as one of the most promising
actresses of the industry.
