From 2008, Roy made some impolitic choices of selecting films that did not equalise her stature and led her career into a major setback. She featured in Nilanjan Bhattacharya's directorial debut "Lal Ronger Duniya" (2008) where she played Dalia Karmakar, a former sex worker who tries save the women who are entangled in their lives of prostitution. The film is based on Lal Ronger Prithibi, a Bengali novel by Rupak Saha. It emerged as a major critical and commercial failure. The Telegraph stated that the film failed to stand up for too many characters. The dialogues never won any critical favour as well. Roy was appreciated for her performance. The Indian Express wrote, "Debasree Roy as Dalia gives one of her best performances in recent times". It ran for two weeks and was then withdrawn.