She started her career as a model, appearing in many TV advertisements including that of Fair and Lovely and Josco Jeweller. She also starred in Falguni Pathak's music album Meri Chunar Ud Ud Jaye.
Trisha Krishnan first made her debut in films when she was offered a small cameo in the film Jodi. However, the first movie in which she signed up to enact the role of the leading lady was Priyadarshan's Leysa Leysa. A string of flops marked the beginning of her career, such as Manasellam, and Alai. However she was well suited for her role opposite Surya in Mounam Pesiyadhe and won critical acclaim. She is well acclaimed for her facial expressions while acting. She then played Vikram's lady love in the mega blockbuster Saamy. The next huge film she took part in followed immediately afterwards, was Ghilli with Vijay, which was a remake of Telugu blockbuster Okkadu.
In 2004, she starred in Varsham in Telugu which went on to become the biggest hit of the year and turned her into an overnight sensation. In 2005, she starred alongside Siddharth Narayan in the Telugu flick Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana as the village girl Siri. The movie is about a rich boy, who tries to marry a girl - however her brother opposes. It is directed by Prabhu Deva, was successful at the box office,[4] and Krishnan won two awards for the film which include the Filmfare Award and Nandi Award.
She appeared in Mani Ratnam's Aayutha Ezhuthu which was remade into a hit Hindi movie Yuva. The Tamil version included Siddharth Narayan, Madhavan and Surya. Her later movies, Ji, Aathi and Aaru did not do well - though Aaru was received well by critics and both dubbed in Tamil and Telugu and produced by Saran, who had previously directed several successful movies.[5] Her 2006 Telugu movie, Pournami, directed by Prabhu Deva, was a flop. However, another 2006 film, Something Something ... Unnakum Ennakum, where Krishnan acted opposite Jayam Ravi, did well at the box office. Something Something ... Unnakum Ennakum is a remake of the Telugu movie, Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana where she plays the same role.
Her Telugu film Sainikudu with Mahesh Babu was released on November 30, 2006. There were high expectations in the trade circles from this film especially after the smashing hit Pokiri, but this high budget film started off with below average reviews. Despite receiving bad reviews from the film trade, the film managed to get a decent opening in India and overseas.
Her next release after Sainikudu was Aadavari Matalaku Ardhalu Verule where she was cast opposite Venkatesh. This film was Selvaraghavan's first film in Telugu. The film released on April 27, 2007. The film is a family entertainer and received good response especially from the family audience. The box office returns exceeded the collections of later releases like Aata and Munna. Krishnan's performance is one of the highlights of the movie.
In Kireedam with Ajith, Krishnan tried comedy and received rave reviews. Kireedom opened with high expectations and received good reviews from media and audience. Her 2008 films, Bheema and Kuruvi failed to succeed at the box-office, whilst Krishna with Ravi Teja, opened to rave reviews. Her other movie Bujjigadu starring Prabhas, directed by Puri Jagannadh was released during Summer and made a decent run. However Radhamohan's Abhiyum Naanum became a super hit and Krishnan was praised for her performance. King starring Akkineni Nagarjuna directed by Sreenu Vaitla was a December release and it became a blockbuster. In 2009 her movie Sarvam with Arya did not do well and became just an average grosser. She has a Gautham Menon film opposite Simbu awaiting for 2009 release.
She is said to be the highest paid actress in south India and she takes home 2crores in Tamil and 1.25 crores in telugu.
Krishnan recently replaced Rani Mukherjee as the Brand Ambassador of Fanta India. She is the brand ambassador of Scooty Pep+, for which she has replaced Preity Zinta. She endorses Perk chocolate, for which also she has replaced Preity Zinta. She is also the brand ambassador for Fiama Di Wills, a product by ITC.
