Paayum Puli, alongside Vishal, received mixed reviews and failed at the box office. Reviewers criticised her character stating: "badly written and has nothing more to do with the script" She also did a cameo appearance in the bilingual romantic comedy film Size Zero. The year 2016 saw Aggarwal appear in two high-profile Telugu films. She played the lead female role, marking her first collaboration with Pawan Kalyan, in the masala film Sardaar Gabbar Singh, directed by K. S. Ravindra. Critical reaction of the film was mixed to negative, though Aggarwal's performance was positive. A reviewer from the Deccan Chronicle wrote: "Kajal Aggarwal plays the perfect princess and looks beautiful and elegant. In fact, she is a breath of air in the film". The film grossed worldwide. Her second Telugu release was Srikanth Addala's family drama Brahmotsavam, opposite Mahesh Babu, which was a major critical and commercial failure. Among the female leads, her performance as a "new age girl" was well received, despite the role having a limited screen time. She next starred opposite Randeep Hooda in the romantic drama Hindi film Do Lafzon Ki Kahani. The film received moderate reviews. In April 2016, she signed another Telugu film directed by Teja, starring opposite Rana Daggubati. In June 2016, she signed for Vivegam, starring opposite Ajith Kumar. In July 2016, she signed for the Telugu film Khaidi No. 150, starring opposite Chiranjeevi for the first time in his 150th film. In late July 2016, she signed to perform her first item number in Koratala Siva's Janatha Garage, starring Mohanlal, Jr NTR, Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Nithya Menen. The shooting of the song took place in mid-August 2016. That song, titled "Pakka Local", was well received by the audience. In October 2016, the much delayed Hindi film Final Cut of Director released, which was supposed to mark her lead debut. The film was dubbed in Tamil and released eight years earlier as Bommalattam. Her next release, Kavalai Vendam, received mixed to positive reviews, but her performance was praised by critics. In December 2016, she signed for Vijay 61, starring opposite Vijay. Aggarwal's first 2017 release was the Telugu-language action drama film Khaidi No. 150, starring opposite Chiranjeevi. It received mostly positive reviews and turned out to be a commercial success, with Aggarwal's performance praised by critics. In January 2017, in a poll conducted by the Hyderabad Times, she topped the list of