A business management graduate with an MBA in finance, Yagna Shetty took to acting in 2007, making her debut in the Kannada movie Ondu Preethiya Kathe. Despite being not very fluent in Kannada, she managed to wow the audience with her performance, with critics calling her a promising debutante. In 2009, she appeared in two movies - Eddelu Manjunatha and Love Guru, both of which won her critical acclaim. Her performance in Eddelu Manjunatha won her a Filmfare Special Award - South while she went on to win a Filmfare Award -Kannada for Best Supporting Actress for Love Guru.