In 2003, Rai featured in two romantic dramas of Bollywood, her brother's production début "Dil Ka Rishta", alongside Arjun Rampal, and Rohan Sippy's "Kuch Na Kaho", alongside Abhishek Bachchan. Neither of these films fared well critically or commercially. She was later noted for her starring role in Rituparno Ghosh's independent Bengali film "Chokher Bali", an adaptation of Rabindranath Tagore's novel of the same name. She portrayed the character of Binodini, an emotionally manipulative widow, struggling with her sexual desires in early-20th century Bengal. The film was a major critical success and Rai earned positive notice for her performance; Derek Elley of "Variety" noted, "Rai dominates the film with her delicately sensual presence and physical grace". Commercially, the film was a sleeper hit.