The actor was then selected to portray the lead role of a blind warrior in Prakash Kovelamudi's fantasy epic Anaganaga O Dheerudu co-produced by Walt Disney Pictures and veteran director K. Raghavendra Rao. Beginning production in June 2009, it became the actor's most expensive film till date and marked the debuts of actresses Shruti Haasan and Lakshmi Manchu in Telugu cinema. The film opened with high expectations following positive pre-release promotions, but only garnered average collections and reviews from critics. While a critic from Rediff.com noted Siddharth "shines in his first true-blue action film" and that "he displays quick reflexes, agility, and keenness as the swordsman", another reviewer was more critical, stating that Siddharth "tried his best to get into the shoes of a warrior, the attire does not suit him and he displayed much innocence on his face, rendering the show a pale drama." He was next seen in the Tamil and Telugu bilingual 180 directed by his mentor, the ad director Jayendra. The venture marked his return to Tamil films after a seven-year hiatus, and he was seen portraying a doctor who flees from his American life to begin fresh in India. The film had an average run at the box office, though garnered positive reviews from critics. His third release of the year was the romantic college drama, Oh My Friend co-starring Shruti Haasan and Hansika Motwani, which opened to mixed reviews but proved to be a commercial success at the box office. Siddharth then chose to produce his first film under his newly launched production studio, Etaki Entertainment Private Limited, which he had registered in October 2010. He financed the bilingual college romantic comedy Kadhalil Sodhappuvadhu Yeppadi (2012), based on the same-titled short film by Balaji Mohan, and featured in the lead role alongside Amala Paul. He revealed that after watching the 10-minute Tamil short film, he found it interesting and developed an interest to turn it into a mainstream full-length feature film. The film was shot in Tamil and Telugu over a period of eight months under a moderate budget. The film opened in February 2012 in both languages to commercial success, becoming a profitable venture at the box office. Both the film and Siddharth won positive reviews, with a critic calling it "earnest" and "well-written". In 2013, Siddharth had his most prolific year and appeared in seven film across four languages. Siddharth was selected