In June 2012, Shroff was signed by producer Sajid Nadiadwala to make his film debut with Sabbir Khan's action romantic comedy Heropanti, which was produced under Nadiadwala's banner Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment.In preparation for the role, he underwent flexibility training under Ziley Mawai.Released in 2014, Heropanti garnered unfavourable reactions from critics but emerged as a commercial success with earnings of 726 million (US$10 million) worldwide.For his performance, Shroff received mainly mixed to positive reviews, with critics primarily praising dancing skills and ability to perform onerous stunts.Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama appreciated his performance, saying "Tiger registers an impact in several sequences" and that he "scores brownie points in action and stunts". Adarsh also added that "for a first-timer, he exudes supreme confidence",whereas Subhash K. Jha praised him for his versatility, saying "he emotes, he dances and yes, he can fight".However, Sweta Kaushal of Hindustan Times disagreed, calling his "dialogues forced" and said "his expressions do nothing in a given situation". In spite of terming his performance "a little unconvincing", Kaushal called his action sequences "admirable" and said he's a "great dancer".Furthermore, Anupama Chopra, though noting that he has star-like qualities and "very solid screen presence", called his dialogue delivery "off".Shroff's portrayal fetched him the Screen Award for Best Male Debut and the IIFA Award for Star Debut of the Year – Male in addition to a Best Male Debut nomination at the 60th Filmfare Awards.