In 2011, Dheer appeared in Anees Bazmee's comedy Ready, alongside Salman Khan and Asin. The following year, he had a supporting role in Arbaaz Khan's action film Dabangg 2 alongside Salman Khan, Sonakshi Sinha and Prakash Raj. In 2013, he featured as the primary antagonist in Rohit Shetty's action comedy Chennai Express with Shahrukh Khan and Deepika Padukone. For his role as Tangaballi, a dreaded Tamil goon, Dheer was asked to gain more muscle and work on his accent. His physique in the film was received warmly; Mohar Basu noted that Dheer is "robust" although "hardly has a role enough to perform".