2010–present
Darshan's next releases were Boss (2011) and Prince (2011), soaring despite the flops. Next came the action film Saarathi. He made a comeback with Saarathi (2011), the highest-grossing Kannada film of that year.
His 2012 release was Chingari. Next, he played a role in the historical movie Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna and got his maiden Karnataka State Film Awards and Filmfare Award for best actor. In 2013, he had two releases, Bulbul and Brindavana.
His 2014 film Ambareesha received mixed responses, though it was commercially successful. In Mr. Airavata, he played the role of a police officer. The Hindu wrote: "He sizzles on the screen in his tailor-made avatar as Mr. Airavata". In Viraat, his first release of 2016, he played a businessman wanting to provide a solution to the issue of irregular power supply by taking up a thermal power project. The Indian Express, in its review, wrote that despite the loopholes, Darshan "cements them". The reviewer added: "He is seen in his signature style of action, dialogue delivery and mannerism. This time the actor breezes through some dance steps". Darshan's next film Jaggu Dada saw him play a gangster, and received largely negative reviews from critics.
Darshan's next release was Chakravarthy in 2017 based on Bangalore Underworld's true story, which gave a mixed response from the audience, but got recognition for the new look. In later 2017, his next movie Tarak was released which met with negative response. Following this, in 2019, Darshan's 50th film Yajamana released, becoming his biggest box office opener. Following the success of Yajamana, the big-budget Indian mythological movie Kurukshetra was released on 9 August 2019. Kurukshetra was well received by critics. In the same year, Darshan starred in another film, Odeya.
In June 2019, he teamed up with Tharun Sudhir for the film, Roberrt, which was released in 2021 and achieved box-office success. In 2023, he starred in Kranti, in which he plays a businessman who is called back by his school for 100 year celebration where he learn that the system is run by corrupt businessman and takes on the challenge to stop the closure of 100 schools and take down the corrupt businessman. The film received mixed to negative reviews from critics. Kranti theatrically released on 26 January 2023, coinciding with the Indian Republic Day holiday. Following this he appeared in a brief role in Yogaraj Bhat's directorial Garadi.
In 2024, Darshan's biggest box-office success came through Kaatera, for which he teamed again with director Tharun Sudhir and producer Rockline Venkatesh. The film became the highest grosser of the year and his portrayal of Kaatera character received widespread appreciation. In 2025, Darshan filmed The Devil, directed by Prakash.
