Yuvarathnaa movie review: A treat for Puneet Rajkumar fans 

3.5/5

Kannada director Santosh Ananddram and superstar Puneeth Rajkumar had earlier teamed up for the blockbuster Raajakumara in 2017 and its expectations must have weighed high for their collaboration in Yuvarathnaa. For most parts of their second outing, they deliver a solid, star-driven entertainer that fans of Rajkumar can rejoice. 

The movie starts off with the suicide of a student in the government college RK University. Its principal Gurudev Deshmukh (Prakash Raj) suspects foul play and sets about seeking a petition for an investigation into the case. The task has him travelling across the State and keeps him away from his university, which in his absence is plagued by goons and drug peddlers. Enter Arjun (Rajkumar), a seventh semester engineering student. What is his real identity and what is his connection with the college and those trying to undermine it? 

The film has Rajkumar in top form - when he is not hitting the goons out of the campus or setting the dancefloor on fire with his moves, he is spouting punchline after punchline and some of them are actually really good. The pace of the film is frenzied, which means there is so much happening that there is hardly a second to ponder the lack of logic in some of the scenes - say for instance, the vice principal's drug-inducing behaviour or goons parading as examination supervisors. 

Yuvarathnaa has a good supporting cast with Sai Kumar playing the corrupt minister, Dhananjay as the head of a group of private education institutions that is trying to ruin the reputation of government colleges to attract students, Diganth as district collector and Tarak Ponappa as a police officer. Prakash Raj plays the role of a principal who believes 'education is a service' earnestly. Sadly, as often is the case with star-driven 'mass' entertainers, the female lead Sayyeshaa only has a limited role. The action choreography and music of Yuvarathnaa are good. 

Ananddram, who has also written the film's script, has paced the two halves well. While the first half is a through-and-through Puneeth Rajkumar show, the second half focuses on how privatisation of the education system is ruining its values and also talks about the importance of students understanding the value of education that many take for granted. That all this is packaged without being too preachy and with the right dose of entertainment is what makes this movie a good watch, especially if you are a fan of 'mass' entertainers. 

Verdict: An all-out mass-entertainer that has Puneeth Rajkumar in top form and also delivers a message without being too preachy.