Ek Villain. With Ek Villain, Deshmukh played the antagonist for the first time in his career. Ek Villain was a box office success and he received many awards for acting. Besides this, he also made his acting debut in Marathi cinema the same year with the action film Lai Bhaari. He did a small cameo in Entertainment, which was not entertaining at the box office. In 2015, he appeared in Bangistan along with Pulkit Samrat. The film was a comedy-satire and received a mixed critical response. However, was a box office disaster. In 2016, he appeared in the third installment of the Housefull and Masti series Housefull 3 and Great Grand Masti and a musical drama Banjo. He appeared in the comedy film Bank Chor which was released in 2017 and in the end of 2018, he did his second Marathi film MAULI which was a box office success. In 2019 he appeared in a third part of Dhamaal called Total Dhamaal which received mixed reviews still it becomes successful. In the same year he appeared in two other movies Housefull 4 and Marjaavaan (as a villain after Ek Villain), both were received mixed reviews but they were successful at box office. Housefull 4 become his biggest hit till date and his acting in Marjaavaan was appreciated. In 2020, he appeared in Baaghi 3 with Tiger Shroff and Shradhha Kapoor. In 2022, Deshmukh made his directorial debut with Marathi language Romantic drama film Ved in which he co-starred his wife Genelia D'Souza. It was the remake of 2019 Telugu-language film Majili written and directed by Shiva Nirvana. It was released on 30th December 2022 to positive reviews from critics and audience. Shubham Kulkarni reviewing the film for Koimoi, rated it with two and a half stars and criticised the predictability of narrative writing, "Ved has good things laced with predictability and that kills the vibe." Kulkarni opined that debutant director has shot the songs well writing, "He [the director] blends the music, story, and performances so well." Kulkarni felt that Deshmukh "has a director in him but, he is too bud completely yet." Soham Godbole writing for Loksatta praised the acting of ensemble, cinematography and the music, writing, "The best aspects of the film are the cinematography combined with Ajay Atul's music, [which] takes the film to greater heights." Concluding, Godbole opined, "This movie is sure to be a treat