Before making her debut in movies, Dutta made an appearance in singer Abhijeet Bhattacharya's video of the song titled 'Tu Chalu Hai Re'. In 2005, Dutta appeared in "Kaal", which was a moderate success at the box office. Dutta then appeared in 2005's biggest hit, "No Entry" opposite actors Anil Kapoor, Salman Khan, Fardeen Khan, Bipasha Basu, Esha Deol and Celina Jaitley. She next appeared in "" which was only an average grosser in India but became the biggest hit of the year in overseas markets. Dutta along with Sania Mirza participated in Kaun Banega Crorepati (season 2) as celebrity guests, on 13 November 2005. Lara Dutta made a cameo in the Yash Raj Films film Fanaa in a scene that featured both leads Aamir Khan and Kajol. Dutta stated in an interview that she agreed to feature in Fanaa as she had previously turned down a cameo in Yash Raj's Hum Tum. In December 2006, Dutta played Munni, a lady with suicidal tendencies alongside Akshay Kumar in "Bhagam Bhag", which was one of the biggest hits of the year, as it collected over in India alone. Her first release of 2007 was Shaad Ali's "Jhoom Barabar Jhoom". The film was a box office Well And overseas, especially in the United Kingdom. Dutta however received praise for her performance as Anaida in the movie  Her later release, "Partner" where she starred opposite Salman Khan became a "Blockbuster" in India and became the third biggest grosser of the year. Dutta made a special appearance in "Om Shanti Om". Dutta also presented a documentary film titled 'Sold: An MTV EXIT Special by Charmaine Choo' which followed the tragedy of trafficking in South Asia where thousand of young girls and boys are sold into modern-day slavery. In 2008, Dutta lent her voice for the animated film, "Jumbo". However, the film failed to do well at the box office. She made a special appearance in "Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi" in the song Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte where she paid tribute to Helen, colorfully dressed, with jewels and feathers in a high hair bun. The underlying tune is "O Haseena Zulfon Wale" from the 1966 movie Teesri Manzil.