2010–present: Supporting and matured roles
In the early 2010s, he accepted supporting roles in films such as Aagathan, Guru Sishyan, Aayiram Vilakku, Uchithanai Muharnthaal, Nanban, Thalaivaa and Raja Rani. In Nanban, he played a college professor and won the Best Supporting Actor awards at the Filmfare, Vijay and SIIMA ceremonies, while in Thalaivaa, Raja Rani, Mirchi (Telugu) and Chennai Express (Hindi) he played father characters. Sathyaraj and Manivannan worked together for the last time in Nagaraja Cholan MA, MLA, which was Manivannan's 50th and last directorial venture before his death. A sequel to Amaidhipadai, it was also the 200th film of Sathyaraj and became a box office bomb.
He also entered Malayalam cinema with Aagathan in 2009. He played the role of Kattappa in the Baahubali (2015–2017) duology.
In 2015, at the age of 60, the media and public at large rechristened him as Kattappa, as he received nationwide popularity for his role in India's biggest motion picture Baahubali: The Beginning. Since the time he made his debut as junior artiste at 24 years of age, he had been wanting to do a historical or a folklore film and it was his long cherished dream. He quoted in an interview in 2015: "I am a great fan of M.G.R who is popular in folklore films, like NTR in Telugu movies. My dream of doing a folklore at 24 has been realised at 60 through Rajamouli. I played Rajinikanth's father when I was 31 and Rajini was 35, so I never cared for age..it never mattered to me."
He acted as lead role in the film Oru Naal Iravil (2015). A faithful remake of much acclaimed Malayalam movie, Shutter has been helmed by editor turned director, Antony with great integrity. Sathyaraj as the middle aged man brings so much life to his character. In 2016, he acted with his son Sibiraj in Jackson Durai, another addition to the popular "Horror-comedy genre". He played the role of DC Ratnavel "Randy", a Police officer in the film Mersal (2017) directed by Atlee. Sathyaraj won the Best Supporting Actor – Tamil for the movie Kanaa (2018). The following year, he subsequently starred in films like Jersey, Prati Roju Pandage and Thambi.
In 2021, he appears in Tughlaq Durbar, inspired by Manivannan's political satire Amaidhi Padai. Then Ponram's, MGR Magan which has Sathyaraj and Sasikumar starring. In Theerpugal Virkapadum, he plays the role of a dad who seeks revenge for the injustice meted out to his daughter. In 2022, he had nine releases with notably Etharkkum Thunindhavan, Veetla Vishesham and Love Today which received positive reviews. He also starred in the Telugu anthology drama series Meet Cute streaming on SonyLIV. In December, the horror thriller Connect was released where sathyaraj played the role of Nayanthara's father. They also come together in Annapoorani: The Goddess of Food (2023). He later appeared as a lead actor in Weapon (2024), Thozhar CheGuevara (2024) and Madras Matinee (2025). Sathyaraj and Rajinikanth will reunite after 38 years for Lokesh Kanagaraj's Coolie (2025). They last acted together in the 1986 film, Mr. Bharath.
