Beginning her career as a model, Rao made her acting debut with Ab Ke Baras (2002) for which she won her best debut award. She then starred in Ken Ghosh's love-story Ishq Vishk (2003) and earned her first Filmfare nomination in the Best Female Debut category. She is best known for Main Hoon Na (2004) and Vivah (2006), her biggest commercial success so far.
