Actress nomination and also received the national honour Rajiv Gandhi Award for the work in the film, also recognising her achievements in Bollywood. The film became successful at the box office with gross earnings of . She achieved further critical acclaim for her portrayal of the title role of a girl in a strained relationship with her mother, in Khalid Mohammed's crime drama Tehzeeb (2003). Rediff complimented her by stating, "Urmila as the emotionally scarred Tehzeeb, who is uncomfortable expressing her feelings even to her husband, has done a commendable job. The only person she expresses her love to is her mentally challenged sister." She next played the role of Puro, a North Indian girl who leads a happy life but her dreams of a happy future are shattered when, one evening, she is kidnapped by Bajpayee's character, in the background of the 1947 India partition in the critically acclaimed Pinjar (2003). Derek Elley of Variety reviewed the film commenting, "A handsomely shot drama centered on a Hindu woman's travails during the 1947 Partition, "Pinjar" ranks as one of the better Bollywood treatments of this still hot-button issue. Good performances, especially by lead actress Urmila Matondkar and by Manoj Bajpai as her Muslim partner, compensate for a slightly wobbly structure". Critical acclaim and decrease in workload (2004–present) In 2004, Matondkar starred in the thriller Ek Hasina Thi. The film (which marked the debut of Sriram Raghavan) tells the story of a Sarika Vartak, a deceived woman, played by Matondkar, who is jailed and arrested for having links with the underworld, because of her lover, played by Khan, and later flees from prison to seek revenge on him. Upon release, the film was positively received by critics, with Matondkar's performance earning praise. The Deccan Herald commented: "An author-backed role ensures that Urmila gets to do everything just right. Whether it's kicking a bully into shape in the dreary prison of which she's an inmate or whether it's making nice with Karan while plotting his ruin, she's a total treat. She carries off the transition from naive to knowing effortlessly. Seductive and steely, she's quite explosive." The film was a box office success. For her performance, Matondkar received nominations at the Filmfare, Screen, Zee Cine and IIFA ceremonies. The film was premiered at the New York Asian Film Festival. In 2005, she played the title role in the horror Naina. The film