She followed it by garnering acclaim for her starring roles in the box-office hits Ishaqzaade (2012), Shuddh Desi Romance (2013) and Hasee Toh Phasee (2014).

This success was followed by a three-year hiatus and several poorly received films, with the exception of the horror-comedy Golmaal Again (2017) and the war drama Kesari (2019), in which she had brief role.

Chopra obtained an internship in the marketing department of Yash Raj Films, joining the production company as a public-relations consultant.

[20] While working on promotions for Band Baaja Baaraat (2010), Chopra realized that she wanted to become an actress and decided to resign from her executive position with Yash Raj Films to attend acting school.

Chopra also received Best Supporting Actress nominations at several ceremonies, including Filmfare, and won the Producers Guild and IIFA Awards in the same category.

[26][27] Chopra's second release was Habib Faisal's action romantic drama Ishaqzaade in which she played a leading role opposite debutant Arjun Kapoor.

Chopra played the boisterous and feisty tomboy Zoya, a Muslim girl who marries a Hindu boy and gives birth to new rivalry in both families.

[28] Taran Adarsh observed, "Chopra is simply fantastic [...] Playing the part of a spirited gun-toting girl, she is not the regular timid, decorous, withdrawn Hindi film heroine.

She portrays the violent behavior coupled with the audacious and brash attitude with aplomb",[29] and Rajeev Masand labelled her the "biggest strength of the film".

[32][33][34] Chopra next starred alongside Sushant Singh Rajput and Vaani Kapoor in the romantic comedy-drama Shuddh Desi Romance (2013), her second collaboration with Maneesh Sharma.

[38] Chopra's first of three releases of 2014 was Dharma Productions' romantic comedy-drama Hasee Toh Phasee, her first role outside the Yash Raj Films banner.

[40][41] Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV wrote that Chopra was "pitch-perfect with her goofball act" and Hindustan Times published that she re-defined the concept of a Bollywood heroine with the film.

[48] Post the release of Kill Dil, Chopra took a 3-year sabbatical from full-time acting, during which she portrayed Muskaan Raza Qureshi in Dishoom (2016), appearing in the song "Jaaneman Aah".

[citation needed] Chopra returned to the screen in 2017 with Yash Raj Films' romantic drama Meri Pyaari Bindu opposite Ayushmann Khurrana.

[50] Anisha Jhaveri of IndieWire praised Chopra for "grounding Bindu with flickers of genuine sensitivity and vulnerability [...] hinting that there's more to the character behind that flighty surface.

[57][58] Shilpa Jamkhandikar of Reuters felt the actress was "sleepwalking through a role that didn't have too much meat in the first place" and Nandini Ramnath of Scroll noted that Chopra's usual spikiness was missing.

Chopra played the role of Jeevani Kaur, the wife of Ishar Singh, the leader of the Sikh soldiers, appearing in his imaginary conversations before and after the battle.

[62] However, Rachit Gupta of The Times of India noted her "small, but impactful role", writing "it's her character's fun banter with Kumar that puts a smile on your face and her tears break your heart.

[65][66] Writing for NDTV, film critic Saibal Chatterjee felt that Chopra "punctuates her perky, no-nonsense girl persona with moments of demure docility" but "all the effort that she makes to traverse the gamut quickly ceases to convey any meaning in the absence of cohesion and clarity in the character's motives."

Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express wrote that "Chopra, togged out in the most outlandish clothes Patna may have been witness too, seems to have got stuck in a rut of familiarity.

[76] Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express noted that she serves drops and smashes as the badminton champ", writing Chopra gives us a good, solid Saina Nehwal.

"[83] Chopra next featured as Shraddha Gupta, a tour guide, in the ensemble film Uunchai, directed by Sooraj Barjatya under Rajshri Productions.

Chopra made her television debut as a judge alongside Mithun Chakraborty and Johar on the reality show titled Hunarbaaz: Desh Ki Shaan, which premiered on Colors TV in 2022.

[112] In August 2016, Chopra performed in various cities in the United States for the "Dream Team 2016" tour, alongside Johar, Varun Dhawan, Sidharth Malhotra, Aditya Roy Kapur, Katrina Kaif, Alia Bhatt and Badshah.

She walked the ramp at the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week to support the Shabana Azmi Mijwan Welfare Society, a NGO dedicated to empowering girls.

[120] In 2020, Chopra did a virtual coffee date with people to raise funds that will feed 4,000 family members of 1,000 daily wage earners.

[129][130] Expanding her entrepreneurial journey, in September that year, Chopra invested in "Tritiyaa Fine Jewellery", a venture founded by entrepreneur Kanthi Dutt.

[133][134] For her portrayal of brash, loud mouthed Dimple Chaddha in Ladies vs Ricky Bahl (2011), Rajeev Masand said that "she steals the film from under the nose of its leads".

[139] While discussing her career in a 2013 article, CNN-IBN noted, "[she]....is one of the few actresses in the current lot who has a strong screen presence which demands absolute attention from the viewer.

[144] Amit Tyagi of India Today feels Chopra has been "working towards changing woman characters' portrayal in Bollywood" one film at a time.