2010–18: Breakthrough and critical acclaim
The year 2010 marked a significant turning point in Hooda's career; he appeared in Milan Luthria's Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai, a period action drama depicting the rise of organised crime in Mumbai. Co-starring alongside Ajay Devgn, Emraan Hashmi, Kangana Ranaut and Prachi Desai, Hooda played a police officer in the film. His performance in the film was variously appreciated by critics. Sudish Kamath of The Hindu compared his screen presence to that of Amitabh Bachchan and wrote that despite his limited screen time, "[he] chews the scenery around him with [...] his baritone firing away dialogue as if he were born to play this role." Film critic Komal Nahta described him as a "revelation" in his own right. The film was a critical and commercial success, earning over ₹780 million (US$8.1 million) in India. Hooda too attributed his subsequent success to the film saying that his professional prospects really changed after the role. He had been on sabbatical from acting prior to the role and noted that it, "brought me back in a big way. Now other directors and production houses look at me as an actor who can carry bigger parts and a longer screen presence."
The following year, Hooda featured in Tigmanshu Dhulia's romantic thriller Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster with Jimmy Shergill and Mahie Gill. The film (and his portrayal of a gangster who falls in love with a married woman while working as her driver) earned rave reviews from critics. In an interview with Digital Spy, Hooda said "My inspiration for this character went back to my roots in Haryana, to the time I grew up and people I observed. My uncles were drivers and I thought of those times and people around me." Nikhat Kazmi of The Times of India called him "absolutely mesmerising"; Gaurav Malani wrote, "Randeep Hooda plays the best character of his career so far and gets immense scope to show his performance prowess. The passion, obsession, emotions and expressions he brings to his character is simply outstanding."
Hooda's first film in 2012 was Kunal Deshmukh's crime thriller Jannat 2, a sequel to Jannat (2008). Jannat 2 received mixed reviews from critics and Hooda was praised for his performance. Taran Adarsh wrote, "the actor delivers yet another knockout performance. He dominates in several sequences, making you realize that if given an opportunity, the guy can steal the thunder from the best of actors." Sonia Chopra of Sify said, "Randeep Hooda is the best thing about the film." It was a commercial success and earned a domestic revenue of over ₹410 million (US$4.3 million).
Hooda's next appearance was in Pooja Bhatt's erotic thriller Jism 2 opposite Sunny Leone. The film and Hooda's performance received mixed reviews from critics. Lisa Tsering of The Hollywood Reporter said Hooda "smoulders to the best of his ability in the role of a violent criminal". Rajeev Masand, who was less impressed by his performance, wrote, "The usually dependable Hooda, goes a little overboard with all the feeling; alternating clunkily between melancholic and hyper, Hooda constructs a wildly implausible character that inspires most of the unintended laughs in this film". Jism 2 was a moderate commercial success, earning ₹350 million (US$3.6 million) in India.
Hooda's final film of the year was Madhur Bhandarkar's drama Heroine, starring Kareena Kapoor, in which he played cricketer Angad Paul. Before the start of principal photography, Arunoday Singh was chosen for the role but was dropped for unknown reasons. Media reports began speculating about several actors (such as Ranbir Kapoor, Imran Khan and Prateik Babbar), although Bhandarkar later confirmed that he selected Hooda after seeing his performance in Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster (2011). The film received mixed to negative reviews, but Hooda's performance was appreciated by the critics. Kanika Sikka of Daily News and Analysis wrote, "Randeep, as usual does justice to his role." The film was fared poorly at the domestic and international box office.
In 2013, Hooda starred opposite Aditi Rao Hydari and Sara Loren in Vishesh Bhatt's Murder 3, an official remake of the 2011 Colombian thriller The Hidden Face. The film and his portrayal of Vikram (a fashion and wildlife photographer) garnered mixed to negative feedback from critics. A review from Mint said that Hooda "is hundreds of shades below his ability to enact a character." The film earned a worldwide gross of ₹250 million (US$2.6 million) in ten days and was an average grosser.
Later that year, Hooda acted in Ketan Mehta's biographical period film Rang Rasiya, based on the life of the 19th-century Indian painter Raja Ravi Varma. The film earned him a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor.
Hooda also featured in the thriller John Day, alongside Naseeruddin Shah.
He also appeared alongside Rani Mukerji and Saqib Saleem in a segment directed by Karan Johar for the anthology film Bombay Talkies. The film was made as a celebration of the 100th year of Indian cinema and was screened at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.
In 2014, Hooda appeared opposite Alia Bhatt in Imtiaz Ali's Highway. To get used to his character, who had a distant relationship with Bhatt's character, he avoided speaking to her for about 25 days. Parmita Uniyal for Hindustan Times praising Hooda's "nuanced yet controlled" performance wrote that he lent, "authenticity to his character".
He then starred in Sajid Nadiadwala's action film Kick, co-starring Salman Khan and Jacqueline Fernandez. The film emerged as one of Bollywood's biggest blockbusters of 2014, with the total revenue of ₹4.2 billion (US$44 million).
Hooda's last release for the year was the Emraan Hashmi and Kangana Ranaut starrer Ungli. The film focused on both a commercial failure and was panned by critics. Emphasizing on the fim's potential Mid-Day critic Shubha Shetty Saha said the film would have been "wonderful" had it not been for its "downright idiotic" dialogue.
In 2015, Hooda portrayed the serial killer Charles Sobhraj in Prawaal Raman's, Main Aur Charles. It was told from the perspective of Amod Kanth, the cop who handled his case and was also based on his 1986 jail escape. The film was released in India on 31 October 2015 to mostly positive response from critics.
In 2016, Hooda starred in four films, the first one was the drama thriller Laal Rang, based around illegal blood selling. The film was a box office failure and received a lukewarm response from critics. Hooda's performance was highlighted as the only bright spot in the film.
Omung Kumar's biographical drama Sarbjit, was his next release, where he portrayed the role of Sarabjit Singh, who was captured by Pakistan and later sentenced to death by their Supreme Court for alleged terrorism. Hooda lost eighteen kg of weight in 28 days for the preparation of the role. The film premiered at the 69th Cannes Film Festival, and received mixed reactions from critics. Anupama Chopra called Hooda "terrific". Sarbjit proved to be a box-office success.
Hooda's next release was Deepak Tijori's Do Lafzon Ki Kahani alongside Kajal Aggarwal. A remake of the 2011 Korean film Always, the film was a critical and commercial failure.
His final release of 2016 was the sports drama Sultan, co-starring Salman Khan and Anushka Sharma, where he played the coach of Sultan. With earnings of over ₹5 billion (US$52 million) worldwide, it ranks among Indian cinema's biggest grossers.
Hooda played a supporting role in the 2018 action hit Baaghi 2 after a gap of two years. He was working on a film based on the Battle of Saragarhi, but the project was ultimately dropped after being stuck in development hell for over three years.
