2008–10: Debut and breakthrough While training at the acting institute, Khan began networking and met writer-director
Abbas Tyrewala, who offered him the lead role in
Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na (2008). The romantic comedy received positive reviews and was a commercial success, earning worldwide. Khan's portrayal of Jai Singh Rathore (Rats)—a boy who does not believe in violence—was praised by critics.
Khalid Mohammed mentioned that "the enterprise belongs to debutant Imran Khan who comes up with an intelligent and restrained performance."
Rajeev Masand of
CNN-IBN called him "the best young actor" of the time, describing his performance as "unconventional and vulnerable" and stating that it created "a lasting impression." Khan won the
Best Male Debut at the
54th Filmfare Awards, sharing the award with
Farhan Akhtar. '', 2010 Following
Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na, Khan starred in
Sanjay Gadhvi's thriller
Kidnap, produced by
Ashtavinayak head honcho
Dhilin Mehta. He was cast as Kabir Devendra Sharma, a
kidnapper who abducts a girl to settle an old score with her father, played by
Minissha Lamba and
Sanjay Dutt, respectively. The actor was initially hesitant to play the part (calling it "tricky and tough") because he couldn't relate to the character; according to him, he would not have been able to do it without Gadhvi's support and backing. In preparation for his role, Khan listened to
metal and
rock music for a year to become aggressive.
Kidnap was also a commercial failure. Khan next featured alongside an ensemble cast including Dutt,
Shruti Haasan,
Mithun Chakraborty and
Danny Denzongpa in Soham Shah's 2009 action thriller
Luck, again produced by Mehta, playing Ram Mehra—an average middle-class man in dire need of money and ready to do anything for it. In an interview he said that the
stunts (and the "unusual" concept of human betting) inspired him to sign the film. He burnt his eyelashes while shooting the climax scene. and generated negative reviews from critics, as did Khan's performance.
Rediff.com's
Raja Sen stated that the performance lacked the charm of his earlier ones. After the failure of
Kidnap and
Luck, Khan received fewer film offers, until
Karan Johar approached him for the lead role in
I Hate Luv Storys (2010). Khan's performance was generally well received.
Komal Nahta wrote, "Imran Khan is endearing and does well for a good part of the film. But he does need to improve in emotional scenes. [He] is free and lovable in the light scenes.
I Hate Luv Storys was a domestic and international box-office success, earning . Khan expressed his gratitude that Johar gave him the opportunity. His next appearance was in
Danish Aslam's
coming-of-age romantic comedy-drama
Break Ke Baad. An underwhelming success, the film (and his performance) received mixed reviews; while
Namrata Joshi of
Outlook labelled his performance "earnest",
Anupama Chopra said that "Imran is saddled with a bland, supporting role".
2011–12: Commercial success at a promotional event for
Mere Brother Ki Dulhan, 2011 In 2011, Khan earned positive reviews for his role in
Abhinay Deo's English language
action comedy Delhi Belly. He was cast as Tashi, a journalist caught up in a hunt for diamonds—smuggled for a
crime boss in Delhi—he and his roommates (
Kunaal Roy Kapur and
Vir Das) have mistakenly taken. The film opened to critical acclaim and was a commercial success, with a domestic revenue of over . A review in
Mid-Day described his performance as "refreshingly good" and
Nikhat Kazmi of
The Times of India called it his best work to date. Khan said "It is the kind of film that I have always wanted to do, and it is very different to what has been done before in Hindi cinema." Later that year, Khan acted in
Ali Abbas Zafar's romantic comedy
Mere Brother Ki Dulhan. It received mixed-to-positive reviews, and was a box-office success, with domestic earnings of over . Khan played Kush Agnihotri, a man who falls in love with his brother's fiancee, played by
Ali Zafar and
Katrina Kaif, respectively. His performance was praised by critics;
Sify's Sonia Chopra referred to him as "instantly likeable". For his next feature film, Khan starred as Rahul Kapoor, an uptight architect, in
Shakun Batra's directorial debut
Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu (2012) with
Kareena Kapoor. The romantic comedy-drama, set in
Las Vegas, is the story of two strangers who get married one night after they get drunk. Khan described his character as "a guy who lives his life according to his parents' wishes."
Karan Anshuman of
Mumbai Mirror opined, "Imran Khan is superbly cast and he doesn't let down. His body language slackens in progression as the script demands and he is absolutely spot on with his comic timing."
Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu was a modest commercial success, earning a total of in India and abroad.
2013–2015: Setbacks '', 2013 In 2013, Khan appeared in three films, the first being
Vishal Bhardwaj's
Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola, a
political satire set in the rustic surroundings of a village in
Haryana. Co-starring with
Pankaj Kapur,
Anushka Sharma and
Shabana Azmi, Khan played Hukum Singh Matru, an educated community activist and Kapur's right-hand man. To prepare for the role, he lived in
Delhi for three months and learned to speak
Haryanvi from theatre group Act One. The film (and his performance) generated mixed reviews from critics, and its eventual box-office profit was poor.
Reuters Shilpa Jamkhandikar wrote, "Imran Khan goes red in the face trying to muster up a Haryanvi accent and act tough. You can actually see the effort in his acting and that's why it jars all the more." Subhash K Jha described it as a good effort, at best. Khan also sang for the film's soundtrack in "Chaar Dina Ki". Khan's next film role was alongside
Akshay Kumar and
Sonakshi Sinha in
Milan Luthria's
period romantic-drama
Once Upon A Time in Mumbai Dobaara! (a sequel to 2010's
Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai). Critical reaction to the film and Khan's portrayal of a gangster was mixed. While Shubhra Gupta of
The Indian Express found him unconvincing,
NDTV's Saibal Chatterjee wrote, "He provides evidence that he can handle a wider range of roles than he is usually allowed to play." Also that year, he starred opposite Kareena Kapoor in Punit Malhotra's romantic comedy
Gori Tere Pyaar Mein, a critical and commercial failure. In 2015, Khan acted in
Nikhil Advani's romantic drama
Katti Batti, opposite
Kangana Ranaut. The film opened to mixed reviews and was another box-office failure for him; it has been his last release to date. He later made his directorial debut with the documentary short film
Mission Mars: Keep Walking India (2018). == Other works ==