Deol decided to join the acting line of her parents and became a second-generation Actress. 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. This movie was a box office failure. Deol received mixed reactions from critics upon her performance. Savera R Someshwar of Rediff wrote "Esha, as a person, exudes a confidence that almost borders on arrogance. She's athletic and seems perfectly capable of looking after herself in any situation. Esha, on screen, is required to convey three emotions: Love, sorrow and fear. Especially fear. No wonder she flounders. She is just unable to look terrorised. Even her alleged romance with costar Aftab has not helped her shed her stern demeanour in her romantic scenes." 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. Koi Mere Dil Se Poochhe is just plain old mediocre in such a way that you end up noticing the flaws in Esha’s performance more. Her facial expressions need work, her attitude is beautiful but she seems too stern when it is not required. 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." 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.
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