In 2009, Shetty first starred in the blockbuster hit Arundhati. In this heroine-centric film, she essayed two roles for the first time.It was a critical as well as commercial success. Critics heaped praise on Anushka for her performance. Idlebrain's Jeevi wrote that she was "simply amazing in two roles" and that she did "exceptionally well with subtle yet impact creating performance", while Rediff claimed that she was "brilliant and breathtaking in parts",labelling Arundhati as "totally Anushka's film".Sify noted that she was "at her best with great performance".She went on to win the Nandi Special Jury Award and the Filmfare Best Actress Award among other accolades. Her next film, the action flick Billa, a remake of the 2007 Tamil namesake, itself a remake of the 1978 Hindi film Don, featured Shetty in a role contrary to that in Arundati. Her final release in 2009 was her second Tamil feature film, Vettaikkaran with leading Tamil actor Vijay which was one of the highest grosser of the year.
She had an array of releases in 2010, with her Tamil release Singam co-starring Suriya emerging her highest-grosser of the year, while most her Telugu films performed poorly.
