2001–05: Early lead roles Arjun Rampal

arjun rampal signing autographs @ temptation photocall held @ washington hotel in london, england.

rampal s first release of 2002 vipul amrutlal shah s aankhen, in rampal starred in ensemble cast featuring amitabh bachchan, akshay kumar, sushmita sen, paresh rawal , aditya pancholi. played role of blind person. film ranked above average @ box office , became fourth-highest grossing bollywood film of 2002. next release kundan shah s dil hai tumhaara opposite rekha, preity zinta, mahima chaudhry , jimmy shergill. film flop.

in 2003, rampal played lead role in naresh malhotra s dil ka rishta opposite aishwarya rai. rampal earned critical acclaim performance. ronjita kulkarni of rediff wrote: arjun rampal shakes off wooden image , comes performance. subtle , convincing in emotional scenes. has moved on pyaar ishq aur mohabbat. ranked thirtieth film of year on basis of box office collections. rampal s next role in khalid mohammed s tehzeeb opposite urmila matondkar. rampal played muslim in film. film earned critical acclaim. taran adarsh praised performance, quoting: easy-going attitude character reflects injects sheen enterprise.

in 2004, rampal collaborated rajiv rai second time in first action thriller asambhav. rampal starred opposite priyanka chopra , played role of indian commando captain aadit arya. film entirely shot in switzerland. released on 23 july, asambhav rampal s release of year. shahid khan of planet bollywood wrote: arjun rampal looks , suits mould of action hero well.

rampal s first release of 2005 satish kaushik s vaada, in played lead role opposite ameesha patel , zayed khan. film flop. patcy n of rediff praised rampal, writing: arjun rampal has done job; subdued performance, , model-turned-actor looks great in scenes. rampal s next release vikram bhatt s multi-starrer action film elaan. film managed , became average-grosser @ box office. rampal earned critical acclaim performance in elaan. subhash k. jha of ians praised rampal , wrote: arjun pretty on own. once again playing man responsibilities brings controlled conviction both scenes screen daughter , engrossing death scene. merril diniz of rediff wrote: arjun rampal believable rugged ex-cop. has deep baritone , svelte body language.

rampal s third release of year mystery thriller yakeen, in rampal paired in lead role priyanka chopra second time. received acclaim improving emotional acting. taran adarsh praised performance, quoting: cast in complex role, arjun rampal delivers best performance far. role ve lost bearings had been entrusted inferior actor, arjun sinks teeth , emerges trumps. actor portrays gamut of emotions aplomb , delivers flawless performance. efficient in sequences when starts suspecting wife s fidelity in first half. shower sequence intermission point display arjun s range actor. rampal s last release of year apoorva lakhia s ek ajnabee opposite amitabh harivansh rai bachchan , perizaad zorabian. film featured rampal in first negative role shekhar verma, bodyguard of child, corrupted person. subhash k jha praised rampal s performance , wrote: narrative has nice supporting performances, particularly arjun rampal s gone both on , under skin of bar-owner ex-army man s role. not rampal right, feels right.

his first release of 2006 love triangle based humko tumse pyaar hai opposite bobby deol , ameesha patel. film delayed release. satyajit of smashits quoted arjun rampal has been promising , shows in performance. media might have labeled him wooden actor has shown great improvisation in emotional scenes. taran adarsh wrote: arjun awkward @ places in initial portions, gets rhythm subsequently. emotional sequences in second half indicate s come long way. next appearance multi-starrer anthology darna zaroori hai. rampal starred in story spirits come opposite bipasha basu , makrand deshpande, directed prawal raman. despite star cast, film flopped @ box office.