Anushka Shetty first appeared in the 2005 Indian Telugu-language action heist film ‘Super’ where she played the role of ‘Sasha.’ The film received a mixed response from critics. Following her debut, she went on to star in films like ‘Astram’ (2006), ‘Rendu’ (2006) (her Tamil debut), ‘Lakshyam’ (2007), ‘Don’ (2007), ‘Okka Magaadu’ (2008), and ‘King’ (2008). Shetty got her breakthrough role in the 2009 Telugu-language horror fantasy film ‘Arundhati’ directed by Kodi Ramakrishna. Her performance in the film earned her the ‘Nandi Award’ and ‘Filmfare Award South.’ ‘Arundhati’ was a massive critical and commercial success and was one of the highest-grossing Telugu films of 2009. Â
In 2010, she starred as ‘Kavya Mahalingam’ in the Tamil-language action film ‘Singam’ directed by Hari. The film was a major commercial success, grossing over ₹90 crores against a budget of ₹15 crores. ‘Singam’ was remade in multiple languages, including Kannada, Hindi, and Bengali. She reprised her role as ‘Kavya Mahalingam’ in ‘Singam 2’ in 2013. The following year, she appeared in the Tamil-language action drama film ‘Lingaa.’ Even though the film received mixed reviews from critics, it was a major box office hit and went on to become the highest-grossing South Indian film of 2014.Â
The year 2015 saw the release of the S. S. Rajamouli-directed Indian epic action film ‘Baahubali: The Beginning’ where Shetty played the role of ‘Devasena.’ The film earned universal acclaim upon release and was a phenomenal box office success, becoming one of the highest-grossing Indian films of all time. That same year, she also starred in the Indian Telugu-language 3D biographical action film ‘Rudhramadevi’ which was also a major box office success. Shetty reprised her role as ‘Devasena’ in the 2017 ‘Baahubali 2: The Conclusion,’ the follow up to the 2015 film ‘Baahubali: The Beginning.’ The film opened to critical acclaim with critics praising the direction of S. S. Rajamouli. ‘Baahubali 2: The Conclusion’ was also a massive box office success and went on to become the second highest-grossing Indian film of all time.Â
In 2020, Anushka Shetty appeared in the 2020 thriller film ‘Nishabdham’ directed by Hemant Madhukar. While the film received a mixed reception upon release, the critics praised the performance of Shetty.