Modelling career and debut (2000–2005) Before beginning her career in film, Takia appeared in commercials. Her first public appearance was in the music video for
Falguni Pathak's song "Meri Chunar Udd Udd Jaye". Later, she appeared in the music video of "Shake It Daddy", a remix of the song "Nahin Nahin Abhi Nahin" along with actor
Keith Sequeira. Both the songs were directed by Vinay Sapru and
Radhika Rao, which brought her to the attention of Bollywood, leading to film offers. In 2004, Takia made her acting debut in
Abbas–Mustan's
supernatural action thriller film Taarzan: The Wonder Car alongside debutante
Vatsal Sheth. Loosely based on comedy drama
Christine (1983), However, she has been praised for her glamorous appearance in the film. The
BBC wrote, "Gorgeous Ayesha Takia does not have a meaty role to play but displays herself as a confident actress". Takia's portrayal earned her
Filmfare Best Female Debut Award (2005) and
IIFA Award for Star Debut of the Year – Female (2005). Takia next starred alongside
Shahid Kapoor in the multi-starrer
romantic comedy Dil Maange More (2004). Takia's role as a dominant, combative girl named Shagun Shah earned her two nominations viz.
Screen Award for Most Promising Newcomer – Female and
Zee Cine Award for Best Female Debut. In 2005, Takia starred in three films. Her first release of the year was writer-director
Imtiaz Ali's romantic comedy
Socha Na Tha. Besides being Imtiaz Ali's first film as a director,
Socha Na Tha also marked
Abhay Deol's acting debut. Upon release it received positive reviews from critics. Patcy N for
Rediff.com wrote, "Ayesha Takia is a sweet, energetic actress, but her role does not require too much acting skill". Jaspreet Pandohar for the
BBC mentioned, "Dashing newcomers look great together on screen and give sweet, fun performances as a young couple who love making things complicated. Ali’s writing and directing also keep the story interesting and enjoyable". However, the movie underperformed at the box-office, with total earnings of across India. Takia next co-starred David Dhawan's multi-starrer comedy
Shaadi No. 1, opposite
Fardeen Khan. The film received a mixed response from critics, and did not perform well at the box office. Made on a budget of , it earned around worldwide. She then appeared in
Sujoy Ghosh's comedy-drama
Home Delivery, which was also her last release of 2004. The film received negative reviews, with criticism aimed at the unoriginal plot and humor, and underperformed at the box office. Nonetheless, Takia was praised for her role.
India Today noted that Takia's role was one of the key attractions of the film. Takia made her debut in
South Indian cinema in 2005, in the
Telugu-language action heist
Super alongside
Nagarjuna Akkineni. Though the film was financially successful, it received mixed critical reviews. B. Anuradha for
Rediff wrote, "Ayesha debuts in Telugu films with a glamorous role". Her performance as a doctor named Siri Valli earned her first
Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu nomination at
53rd Filmfare Awards South. The film was later dubbed into
Hindi and released under the title
Robbery.
Career downturn and sabbaticals (2006–2012) In 2006, Takia appeared in
Satish Kaushik's comedy
Shaadi Se Pehle, loosely influenced by an old Hindi movie, ''
Meri Biwi Ki Shaadi. The film eventually under-performed at the box office grossing worldwide.
Rajeev Masand remarked that, Ayesha Takia had 'precious little to do,' calling it a pity given her natural spontaneity as an actress. She next played the protagonist in
Naseeruddin Shah-directed drama
Yun Hota Toh Kya Hota (2006), co-starring alongside an ensemble cast. The film received mixed reviews from the critics. Writing for
BBC Poonam Joshi noted, "
Yun Hota Toh Kya Hota, is perhaps a combination of the subtlety in the storytelling, which refrains from sensationalism, and the pathos of the very subject matter that renders this film an emotional experience".
Rediff wrote, "The film is an impressively ambitious one, trying to weave four complex stories running parallel to one another, their paths fatefully criss-crossing only near the very end. But, despite the obvious effort and solid performances, the film severely lacks finesse." Later in the same year, Takia played the part of a Rajasthani Hindu woman in
Nagesh Kukunoor's smaller-budget drama
Dor. The film did not perform well commercially, collecting only at the box office.
The Times of India said, "Apart from the unusual plot, it is Ayesha Takia who simply blows your breath away". While, Merril Diniz noted, "Ayesha goes for the kill with an award-winning performance. Happy and content one minute, depressed, vengeful or naive the next, she does justice to all the various shades of Meera's spirited yet repressed character." Her performance as a young widowed Rajasthani woman living in a traditional joint family went on to win several accolades, including the
Zee Cine Award for Best Actress – Critics. In 2007, Takia appeared in seven films, the first being
Nikkhil Advani's romantic drama
Salaam-e-Ishq, opposite
Akshaye Khanna. The film generated mixed to negative reviews from critics, and its eventual box-office profit was poor.
Sukanya Verma opined that she "infuses perky enthusiasm to an otherwise run-of-the-mill part". Takia's next film role was alongside
Tusshar Kapoor in
Kya Love Story Hai. Khalid Mohamed of
Hindustan Times observed: "The film bombards you with clichés, lackluster performances, and two comedians who seem entirely devoid of talent." Although the film was produced on a budget of , it only managed to earn at the box office, resulting in a commercial failure in India. Co-starring alongside
Shahid Kapoor,
Ahmed Khan's multi-starer
comedy caper film Fool & Final was her next release.
Taran Adarsh from
Bollywood Hungama commented, "Ayesha Takia pairs off well with Shahid, but doesn't have much to do really". In the same year, Takia appeared in the
action thriller film Cash. Directed by
Anubhav Sinha, the movie generated mostly negative reviews and emerged as a commercial failure. Takia played the lead role in
Vishal Bhardwaj's
short film Blood Brothers. With a run time of 13 minutes, the film depicted the story of a young man who, after finding out that he is
HIV positive, allows his life to fall apart. It premiered at the
Toronto International Film Festival. Her final release of the year 2007 was the
psychological thriller No Smoking, opposite
John Abraham. Based upon the 1978 short story "
Quitters, Inc." by
Stephen King, it was directed by
Anurag Kashyap. The film tells a story of a narcissistic and self-obsessed
chain-smoker who gets trapped in the rehabilitation programme of a person who guarantees he will make him quit smoking. Takia played the twin role of the protagonist's wife and secretary, Anjali and Annie respectively. Released on 26 October 2007, the film received negative reviews from critics and audiences. Shubhra Gupta for
Indian Express commented, "
No Smoking is no good. Not because it doesn't have a superb idea. It does. But because it is too bizarre, too outré, too out of it. It stops us from connecting". The film performed poorly at the box office and was declared a 'disaster' by
Box Office India. However, the film would later go on to gain a
cult following due to its
surrealist mix of
fantasy,
horror, and
dark humor. '' in 2009 In 2008, Takia co-starred in
Rohit Shetty's directed mystery comedy
Sunday. The film received mixed critical reviews and underperformed at the box office. She then starred in comedy
De Taali. Takia had two major releases in 2009: action thriller
8 x 10 Tasveer opposite
Akshay Kumar and
Prabhu Deva's
Wanted co-starring
Salman Khan.
8 x 10 Tasveer performed poorly at the box office. The film stars Takia as Sheila, the fiancé of Akshaye's character. Critical response towards Takia's performance received moderate reviews: Rajeev Masand stated, "Ayesha plays the role of Jai's (Akshay) fiancé and it doesn't leave much of an impression". Taran Adarsh for
Bollywood Hungama called Takia "natural". The
Times of India noted, "There's nothing really to cheer you up in the desultory proceedings, unless you want to watch chubby-cheeked Ayesha". Although
Wanted received mixed reviews from most critics, it went on to become one of the highest-grossing films of the year and marked the biggest commercial success of Takia's career. Takia's role as Jahnvi, met with positive reviews.
Rediff commented, "Ayesha Takia is given a truly raw deal. She's given a role that can only be described as insufficient". In 2010, Takia starred in the drama
Paathshaala, alongside
Shahid Kapoor. Inspired by the
Marathi film Shaala, it generated mixed reviews. Her last release of the year was
Mod, which met with a poor response. In 2012, she hosted the only season of the musical-reality show
Sur Kshetra. ==Personal life==