Kapoor made her acting debut in 1991 at the age of seventeen with the romantic drama Prem Qaidi, opposite debutant Harish Kumar. Upon release, the film emerged as a moderate box office success and received mixed reviews from critics, as did Kapoor's performance, with Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama describing it as "mechanical". The following year, Kapoor's first five releases—Police Officer, Jaagruti, Nishchaiy, Sapne Sajan Ke and Deedar—flopped at the box office.