The following year, Shetty's portrayal of a prostitute in the acclaimed drama Vedam won her a second consecutive Best Actress Award from Filmfare.

She continued to draw praise from critics with her leading performances in the dramas Vaanam (2011), Deiva Thirumagal (2011) and Size Zero (2015).

She portrayed the titular queen in the 2015 epic historical fiction Rudhramadevi, which won her the third Filmfare Award for Best Actress- Telugu.

[12] She is an ethnic Tuluva hailing from a Tulu-speaking Bunt family from Bellipady village in Puttur taluk of Dakshina Kannada district.

[17] Shetty made her acting debut in Puri Jagannadh's Super, where she featured alongside Nagarjuna and Ayesha Takia.

Later that year, she made a special appearance alongside Mega star Chiranjeevi in A. R. Murugadoss' directorial debut in Telugu, Stalin.

Her next releases Swagatam alongside Jagapati Babu and Bhumika Chawla and Baladur opposite Ravi Teja garnered poor reviews and box office returns.

[10] Idlebrain's Jeevi wrote that she was "simply amazing in two roles" and that she did "exceptionally well with subtle yet impact creating performance,"[26] while Rediff.com claimed that she was "brilliant and breathtaking in parts," labelling Arundhati as "totally Anushka's film.

Rediff said, "Anushka, fresh from her success with Arundhathi, has been relegated to pretty bimbette again and appears conveniently during the romantic numbers of which Oru Chinna Thamarai takes the cake.

[35] This was followed by the action comedy Khaleja, where she starred opposite Mahesh Babu for the first time in her career, Nagavalli, the Telugu remake of the Kannada film Aptharakshaka in which she portrayed the famous role of Chandramukhi and Ragada.

"[38] Despite its moderate commercial success, Nagavalli earned Anushka her third nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu.

Malathi Rangarajan of The Hindu said, "Boldness and daring mark Anushka's role—the actor's eyes effectively convey joy, helplessness, agony and anger.

"[39] A critic from Sify wrote that "Anushka is outstanding as the commercial sex worker as she is able to bring out a life-like performance.

Karthik Pasupulate from The Times of India said that Anushka "has little to do as far as performance goes and does a good job of upping the glam quotient.

"[53] Anushka next release was Selvaraghavan's fantasy adventure film Irandam Ulagam opposite Arya,[54] that saw her playing a dual role again, the third time in her career.

Anushka played Ramya, a doctor and Varna, a high spirited, warrior-like character, in a parallel world.

Rediff wrote, "Anushka not only shares equal screen space with Arya, but also plays quite a significant role.

"[55] Behindwoods wrote, "As the shy doctor Ramya and as the fierce warrior Varna, Anushka is simply at her best showcasing a wide range of emotions and stunts.

Her third release in 2015 was Gunashekar's bilingual Rudhramadevi in which she portrays the title role of the queen of Kakatiya dynasty, Rudrama Devi opposite Allu Arjun and Rana Daggubati.

[64] AP Herald wrote, "Anushka Shetty is very believable and appreciable as a royal torrid and an honorable woman.

It further noted how her character emphasized the need of freedom of choice writing that "in Devasena's case by taking archery lessons, choosing her life partner and being given the right to reject a matrimonial alliance, she can be her own person and develop into a strong personality, who doesn't break down even when chained for 25 years in the palace courtyard."

In the horror thriller film Bhaagamathie (2018), Shetty played the character Chanchala, an IAS officer, who is sent to prison after killing her fiancé.

"[71] Praising Shetty's performance it further read, "Anushka alternates between playing the gentle Chanchala and the vengeful Bhaagamathie with ease.

In May 2021, she signed for a film under the UV Creations banner called Miss Shetty Mr Polishetty which marked her comeback in 2023 and garnered a good response from the critics and audience alike.

[72][73] She is next appearing in Kathanar - The Wild Sorcerer, being her Mollywood debut along with a victim turned into a criminal and legend in Ghaati directed by Krish Jagarlamudi.