Debut and early career (2000; 2009–2011) Haasan's first appearance in a feature film was as a child artist in a
cameo role as the daughter of
Vallabhbhai Patel in the Tamil-Hindi bilingual
Hey Ram, based on a murder attempt on
Mahatma Gandhi, directed by her father
Kamal Haasan. After rejecting prominent film offers, most notably the lead role in
Venkat Prabhu's
Saroja, reports suggested in late 2007 that Haasan was set to make her actual acting debut in 2008 with a film opposite
Madhavan, directed by
Nishikant Kamat. Haasan eventually signed up to feature in
Soham Shah's Hindi film
Luck, opposite
Imran Khan, in July 2008, and shot for the film for nearly a year. Khan, her childhood friend, had recommended her name to the director and Haasan signed on after listening to the entire script and accepted to play a dual role in the action film. She took part in action scenes during filming and worked out extensively. The film opened in July 2009 to unanimously poor reviews from critics and took a poor opening at the box office, with critics stating that she "deserved a better launch vehicle". Reviewers were critical of her performance, with
Rajeev Masand of
IBN stating that she delivers "dialogues with deadpan expressions", while another critic added that she is perhaps "synthetic and fails to impress". Haasan then went on to appear alongside
Blaaze in the promotional videos for
Unnaipol Oruvan and
Eenadu, the bilingual films starring her father, which she had composed the music for. She further made an appearance in a promotional music video for the horror film
Hisss, starring
Mallika Sherawat, where she had also sung a song composed by
Dave Kushner. Haasan made her Telugu debut in 2011, acting opposite
Siddharth in the fantasy adventure film
Anaganaga O Dheerudu, directed by
Prakash Kovelamudi, son of director
K. Raghavendra Rao. The film, co-produced by
Walt Disney Pictures, saw her play a gypsy with magic healing powers defended by a swordsman, played by Siddharth. The film opened to positive reviews, with her performance being praised, with a critic of
Sify noting: "Shruti looks quite attractive and makes a wonderful screen presence", while a reviewer from
Rediff.com wrote that she "looks beautiful and has a mystical aura about her". It however became a box office average. Her second Hindi feature film,
Madhur Bhandarkar's romantic comedy
Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji, saw her appear in an extended guest appearance alongside
Emraan Hashmi. The film portrayed her as Nikki Narang, the step-daughter of an ex
Miss India model, with Hashmi's character falling for both mother and daughter. Her performance gained poor responses from critics, with a reviewer citing that her character has been "reduced to post-interval surfacing, last-ditch glamour", while another labelled hers as "so fake that she offers only disappointment"; however, the film went on to become a commercial success at the box office. In mid-2010, Haasan was signed by
AR Murugadoss to star opposite
Suriya in his next film
7 Aum Arivu, and the film's shooting began in June later that year. The director signed after he felt she looked the part of the scientist, mentioning that she seemed "intelligent and beautiful". She played Subha Srinivasan, a young scientist in the film, who hopes to re-activate the genes of 5th century Buddhist monk
Bodhidharma, and her performance in the film won appreciation from critics. The film opened to mixed reviews, but became commercially successful. Malathi Rangarajan from
The Hindu noted: "rarely is a heroine given near-equal footing in Tamil films", describing her as "ravishing but that she ought to work harder on spontaneity, and fine-tune her Tamil accent", but concluded "the point is the actor shows promise". Her next Telugu release was
Oh My Friend, a romantic comedy film alongside Siddharth again, which also co-starred
Hansika Motwani and
Navdeep. The film told the story of childhood friends, and that of their platonic friendship that went on in their adulthood as well, and for the role Shruti Haasan went on to learn the dance of
Kuchipudi. The film opened to average reviews, with several critics claiming the film evoked a sense of "déjà vu", though B. V. S. Prakash of
Deccan Chronicle noted: "Shruti, on her part displays the same conviction." She won the
Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut – South for
Anaganaga O Dheerudu and
7 Aum Arivu and earned
Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Tamil nomination for the latter.
Breakthrough (2012–2013) Aishwarya Rajinikanth's Tamil directorial debut
3, a romantic drama film co-starring
Dhanush, marked a turning point in Haasan's career. Aishwarya revealed that she had written the script with Shruti in mind, but date problems meant that the film began its shoot with
Amala Paul instead. However, in a turn of events, Shruti was re-signed to play the character of Janani, and the film gained much hype prior to release due to the collaboration of herself and Aishwarya, being the daughters of the two leading contemporary Tamil actors Kamal Haasan and
Rajinikanth, respectively, as did the success of the song "
Why This Kolaveri Di?". The film opened in March 2012 to positive reviews, with Vishnupriya Bhandaram of
The Hindu noting: "Shruti Hassan has come a long way", while L Romal M Singh of
DNA India stated that the first half of the film belongs to her. The film only garnered average returns at the box office and she received her second Filmfare Best Actress – Tamil nomination. Her second release in 2012 was
Harish Shankar's Telugu film
Gabbar Singh, a remake of the 2010 Hindi film
Dabangg, featuring her opposite
Pawan Kalyan. She played the role of Bhagyalakshmi, a village girl. The film went on to become a major commercial success at the box office and brought in more film offers for Haasan. Critics gave her performance a favourable verdict citing that she "justifies her role" and "though she didn't have much of a role, she has left her mark." Haasan won her first
SIIMA Award for Best Actress – Telugu. With four releases in 2013, Haasan first appeared in the Telugu film
Balupu opposite,
Ravi Teja, which eventually became a "super-hit", at the box office. She received positive reviews for her performance, with a critic of
Idlebrain stating that she "provides the fun in the film with glamor and verve". Later that year, she starred in two Hindi films,
Prabhu Deva's
Ramaiya Vastavaiya and
Nikkhil Advani's
D-Day. For the former, she played a Punjabi girl Sona alongside
Girish Kumar. In the latter, a spy thriller, she played Suraiya, a prostitute involved with a suspended army officer,
Arjun Rampal. She also sang a song for the film, entitled "Alvida". Reviewing the film for
Rediff.com, Palomi Sharma found Haasan to be "perfect as a Karachi prostitute with a haunting aura about her". In her final release that year, Haasan played a social worker Ammulu, opposite
Jr. NTR, in Telugu film
Ramayya Vasthavayya. The film received an average response from critics.
Commercial success and fluctuations (2014–2020) Haasan's first release of 2014, the Telugu film
Yevadu, opposite
Ram Charan, emerged as a major commercial success. She played a college student Manju in the film. Karthik Pasupulate stated, "Shruti looks pretty, but has little else to do." In her second Telugu release of the year,
Race Gurram, Haasan star opposite
Allu Arjun for the first time in her career and played Spandana, an emotionless girl. The film emerged as a "blockbuster" success, the
highest-grossing film of the year. She received positive reviews for her performance, with a critic of
Deccan Chronicle noting that she "plays her part well and looks glamorous". For her performance, Haasan earned the
Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu and her second SIIMA Best Actress – Telugu. She also had a Tamil release;
Poojai, opposite
Vishal, for which she also did costume designing and performed her first
item number, in the Telugu film
Aagadu, starring
Mahesh Babu and
Tamannaah. In 2015, Haasan performed her second item number in the Hindi film
Tevar, featuring
Arjun Kapoor and
Sonakshi Sinha. She went onto appear in five successful films through the year. Haasan first played a lawyer Shruti, in the
Hindi film
Gabbar Is Back opposite
Akshay Kumar, which was a commercial success. Srijana Mitra Das stated that she "charms" with her soft, pretty appeal. She next played a rural development student Charuseela in the Telugu film
Srimanthudu opposite
Mahesh Babu, which opened to positive critical reception and was a commercial success. A critic of
The Hindu opined, "Shruti seems to be getting better with each film and does her part with grace and earnestness, managing to hold her own in a film that worships the hero." The film earned her third SIIMA Best Actress – Telugu alongside nomination for Filmfare Best Actress – Telugu. Hassan then appeared in
Anees Bazmee's Hindi film
Welcome Back, opposite
John Abraham, playing Ranjana.
Bollywood Hungama felt she played her part "decently". It was another box office success. She next appeared in two Tamil films. Haasan played Pavazhamalli in
Puli, co-starring
Vijay, which was a box office success. A critic of
HuffPost felt Haasan "overshadowed" Vijay, with her "just competent presence". In
Vedalam, opposite
Ajith Kumar, she played a lawyer, Shwetha. The film emerged as a commercial success. Malini Mannath of
The New Indian Express noted, "Shruti is adequate in the limited space given to her, but her character is sidelined when the sibling bonding makes its play." In her first film of 2016, Haasan appeared in
Rocky Handsome, opposite John Abraham for the second time. Renuka Vyavahare stated, "Shruti Haasan looks pretty in her special appearance, adding life to the lovely song Rehnuma." Haasan then played a Marathi-Tamil lecturer Sithara, in the Telugu film
Premam, opposite
Naga Chaitanya, a remake of the
Malayalam film
of the same name. A critic of
Times of India stated: Shruti is graceful but seems to have done a wee bit lesser than her potential.
Premam became a commercial success. Haasan played a journalist Vidya in the Tamil film
Si3, her first release of 2017, where she reunited with Suriya. It was a box office success. In her next Telugu film, she played a village girl Avantika in
Katamarayudu, which marked her second film with
Pawan Kalyan. A remake of the Tamil film
Veeram, it was a box office failure. Deepu Joseph of
The Times of India noted, "Shruti looks beautiful and carries off her village belle avatar decently." In her final film of the year, she appeared in
Behen Hogi Teri opposite
Rajkummar Rao, playing a spunky girl, Binny. Rachit Gupta of
Filmfare said, "Shruti Hassan looks beautiful as ever, but her role lets her down." In 2018, Haasan hosted the Tamil talk show,
Hello Sago, that premiered on
Viu. She then made her American television debut with
Treadstone, portraying Nira Patel. Following a three years of hiatus in Indian films, Hassan returned in 2020 with the short film
Devi, where she played a rape victim, the film received critical acclaim. It depicts nine women forced into a sisterhood due to circumstance in which they are compelled to share their stories of abuse.
Hindustan Times stated, "Shruti Haasan is a glam diva who sparingly speaks. She, Kajol and
Neha Dhupia lead the spirited group of women." She followed it up with
Yaara opposite
Vidyut Jammwal, playing a politically active student. Later the year, she appeared in
Amazon Prime's anthology film
Putham Pudhu Kaalai, in which she appeared in the segment
Coffee, anyone? Sowmya Rajendran of
The News Minute stated that Haasan's role is brief but she does well with what she's been given.
Established actress (2021–present) Haasan had five releases in the year 2021. She first appeared as Kalyani, in the Telugu film
Krack, opposite
Ravi Teja, reuniting after the 2013 film
Balupu. It became a critical and commercial success at the box office. Janani K of
India Today noted, "Though Shruti vanishes a few minutes into the film, she takes everyone by surprise with her act in the second half." She then reunited with Vidyut Jammwal in the Hindi film
The Power. Haasan played a kitchen worker in the Telugu
Netflix's anthology
Pitta Kathalu in the segment
xLife. Later that year, she played
Pawan Kalyan's wife in the Telugu film
Vakeel Saab, which was commercially successful. Haasan paired opposite
Vijay Sethupathi in the Tamil film
Laabam, her final release that year. In 2022, Haasan made her Hindi web debut with
Bestseller, alongside
Mithun Chakraborty and
Arjan Bajwa. She played Meenu, who aspires to be a writer. The series received mixed to negative reviews from critics. A critic of
Times of India noted, "Shruti Haasan de-glams for Meetu Mathur and after a few initial moments of discomfort in front of the camera, her act picks up pace." Haasan played a singer Esha, opposite
Nandamuri Balakrishna in
Veera Simha Reddy, her first release of 2023. Neeshita Nyayapati of
Times of India found that Haasan was reduced to exists only to shake a leg. Next, she played RAW Agent Athidhi, opposite
Chiranjeevi in
Waltair Veerayya. Ram Venkat Srikar of
Cinema Express stated, "Shruti gets a fine role, packed with a surprise." Both these films turned out to be among the
highest grossing Telugu films of the year. After appearing in a song in
Hi Nanna, Hassan played an NRI Aadhya opposite
Prabhas in
Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire. Paul Nicodemus of
Times of India opined, "Shruti Haasan, in her role as Aadhya, brings a sense of balance but is mostly limited to the first half and a few scenes in the second." A commercial success, it became the highest grossing Telugu film of the year and
one of the highest grossing Telugu film of all time. That same year, Haasan expanded to English films with
The Eye opposite
Mark Rowley, where she played Diana who goes to length to save her lover. The film was premiered in India in 2025. In her only release of 2025, Haasan played Preethi, a daughter investigating her father's death in
Coolie alongside
Rajnikanth. Janani K found it to be "one of her most impactful performances".
Hindustan Timess Abhimanyu Mathur stated, "Shruti has done well with the role she has, even matching Rajini in certain confrontational scenes." The film emerged a commercial success and the
fourth highest-grossing Tamil film of all time. She will next appear in the Tamil film
Train opposite Vijay Sethupathi, and in the Telugu film
Salaar Part 2: Shouryanga Parvam opposite Prabhas. == Music career ==