Malhotra went on to star in such commercially successful films as the romantic comedy Hasee Toh Phasee (2014), the thriller Ek Villain (2014), and the drama Kapoor & Sons (2016).

[12][11][13] In 2012, he made his film debut with Johar's teen drama Student of the Year alongside newcomers Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt.

Following a year-long absence from the screen, Malhotra starred opposite Parineeti Chopra in the 2014 romantic comedy Hasee Toh Phasee, which tells the love story of a scientist and an under-confident aspiring businessman.

[24] Malhotra's next release, the Shakun Batra-directed family drama Kapoor & Sons, proved to be a critical and commercial success, grossing ₹ 1.53 billion worldwide.

A reviewer for India Today thought that Malhotra was overshadowed by Khan in the film, though Namrata Joshi of The Hindu wrote that "he holds his own with his solid presence and vulnerable glances".

[35] Bollywood Hungama, in a negative review said that "On the whole, Aiyaary misses the mark and is a huge letdown on the account of its flawed script and the lengthy run time"[36] Malhotra's two releases of 2019 were poorly received and were deemed box office failures.

[37][38] His second appearance was in Milap Milan Zaveri's action film Marjaavaan,[39] co-starring Ritesh Deshmukh and Tara Sutaria.

[40][41] In 2021, Malhotra had a lead role in the biographical war film Shershaah, based on the life of the Indian army officer Vikram Batra.

[43] Praise was directed at Malhotra's performance in particular, with Saibal Chatterjee writing that he "has what it takes to flesh out a real-life martyr who has left behind a larger-than-life aura".

Malhotra's sole film release of 2022 was the fantasy comedy Thank God, co-starring Ajay Devgn, which failed commercially.

[47][48] Monika Rawal Kukreja of Hindustan Times compared it unfavourably to Shershaah and stated that Malhotra was let down by the script despite being in "top form, with a charming onscreen presence".

[50] The Hindu's Shilajit Mitra found a "decency in Malhotra that’s refreshing for a Rohit Shetty protagonist", but bemoaned that he "strains at playing broad".

[54] Malhotra will next appear in the romantic comedy Param Sundari alongside Janhvi Kapoor,[55] and in the folk thriller VVAN: Force Of The Forrest.

[63] Kunal Purandare and Angad Singh from Forbes India noted that Malhotra has " firmly entrenched in the A-list of Bollywood".

[71][72][73][74][2] Malhotra is a prominent celebrity endorser for brands and products including Pepe Jeans, Brylcream, Oppo, Metro Shoes, Coca-Cola and Movado.

[81] In August 2016, he performed in various cities of United States for the "Dream Team 2016" tour, alongside Karan Johar, actors Dhawan, Bhatt, Roy Kapur, Parineeti Chopra, Katrina Kaif, and the singer Badshah.