In 2011, Remya who till then had appeared in a series of repetitive roles as a village belle, undergoing an image makeover, choosing more serious, substantial and versatile roles. Her first release of that year was "Traffic", starring an ensemble cast. Remya portrayed Shwetha, a "stylish seductress", a character with negative shades. Although her role in the film was short, her performance was appreciated by critics. She next appeared in the thriller film "Chaappa Kurish" as Sonia, a secretary who has an affair with her colleague. She shot a long kissing scene with her co-star Fahad Fazil in the film – supposedly the first ever in Malayalam cinema — which upon release was termed as controversial, causing a great stir in the industry. Remya later stated: "An actress should always be ready to take risks if her character demands so. Even when I was aware that the two-minute intense scene could create waves, I was sure that it was inevitable as it suited the plot. A sense of necessity made me accept that scene. I think director Sameer Tahir brought out the best in me. In fact, I enjoyed doing the scene". She went on to state that she did not regret "doing it"; she further credited the Tamil film industry for "propelling" her image makeover. She was part of two Tamil productions, "Ilaignan", scripted by former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M. Karunanidhi, and the romantic comedy "Kullanari Koottam". She performed a comical role as Priya, a zoology student, in the latter, and received positive feedback. Pavithra Srinivasan from "Rediff" noted that she was "pretty, expressive, and does well with what she's been given". She next appeared in a low-budget Telugu film by Ravi Babu, "Nuvvila", featuring a cast of almost all newcomers, in which she played a "girl with a fetish for cooking".