[2] The film stars Puneeth Rajkumar, Sayyeshaa, Dhananjay, Prakash Raj, Diganth and P. Sai Kumar.

Gurudev Deshmukh, the principal of RK university and Sameera's teacher, is distraught and files a petition against private colleges for depriving public institutions of funds and declining opportunities to bright students who studied in Government Colleges with the support of Samarth Bhagwath, Gurudev's former student and Bangalore DC, and Education Minister Raghav Reddy.

Antony Joseph, who runs the private colleges for his benefits, retaliates by sending gangsters across the state to stop the petition, but is warned and thrashed by Arjun, a student leader.

Vandana, a medical lecturer at the university, suspects Arjun when she witnesses him packing drugs and keeping them in library books.

However, Arjun foils their attempt and it is then revealed he was supplying anti-drug medicines to cure the students with the help of the university's librarian Govind.

As the professor, Yuva cleverly motivates his students and encourages them to take more control of their education and follow their dreams.

Realizing their plan, Yuva patrols the college and stops various goons posing as exam invigilators from impeding the students.

[27] Initially, Tamannaah was set to play the female lead,[31] which would have been her full-fledged Kannada debut after appearing in item numbers in Jaguar (2016) and K.G.F: Chapter 1 (2019);[32][33] however it was later reported that Tamil actress Sayyeshaa was confirmed for the role.

[37] Veteran Tamil actress Radhika Sarathkumar joined the cast in March 2019, marking her comeback in Kannada film industry after 32 years.

[47] Composer V. Harikrishna opted out of the project citing schedule conflicts and was replaced by Thaman S as the music director.

[69][70][71] In November 2020, the makers announced that film will also be released in Kannada, along with the dubbed versions of Telugu, Tamil and Hindi languages.

[74] The film, along with its dubbed versions, was made available to stream a week later through Amazon Prime Video on 9 April 2021 due to the COVID-19 restrictions in Karnataka and was telecasted on Udaya TV on 14 January 2022, during the eve of Makara Sankranthi.

[75][76] Sunayana Suresh of The Times of India gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote "Yuvarathnaa, like Raajakumara, is a tale about human values.

"[77] Sanjith Sridharan of OTTplay gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote "An all-out mass-entertainer that has Puneeth Rajkumar in top form and also delivers a message without being too preachy.

"[78] Vivek M. V. of Deccan Herald gave 3/5 stars and wrote "‘Yuvarathnaa’ is an unapologetic and sporadically entertaining star-vehicle.

"[80] Karthik Keramalu of Film Companion wrote "Yuvarathnaa is not great by any record, but it manages to pass the test.

"[81] A. Sharadhaa of The New Indian Express wrote "Overall, the director has delivered a strong message about the importance of good education, while also churning out a mainstream entertainer that can reach the masses.