Early career

Rai made her acting debut in Mani Ratnam's Tamil film, Iruvar (1997) with Mohanlal, and was introduced to Bollywood in the film, Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya opposite Bobby Deol, which also released that year; the film didn't do well at the box office.

However, her third project, S. Shankar's Tamil film, Jeans (1998) was a critical and commercial success, earning her the Filmfare Best Actress Award South.