Shetty was born on 6 June 1983 in Udupi in a Tulu-speaking Bunt Tuluva Hindu family. He completed his schooling at his hometown. During his schooling days he was an avid Huli Kunitha dancer, a folk dance in the Coastal Karnataka. This made him provide a major role for the dancers in his 2014 film Ulidavaru Kandanthe. Then studied engineering at N.M.A.M. Institute of Technology, Manglore. After graduating, he worked as a software professional for two years before becoming an actor starting in theatre.

Shetty made his acting debut in films in 2010 with Nam Areal Ond Dina, which didn’t garner much popularity or success to him. Later, the romance-comedy 2013 film Simple Agi Ondh Love Story, proved to be a breakthrough for him before he directed and starred in the crime-drama Ulidavaru Kandanthe in 2014. The film garnered widespread critical acclaim and won him the Karnataka State Film Award for Director’s First Time Best Film and the Filmfare Award South for Best Director. The film holds cult status among Kannada audiences. He followed it by starring in Vaastu Prakaara (2015) and the critical success Godhi Banna Sadharana Mykattu (2016). Shetty achieved further success with the 2016 college drama Kirik Party that he wrote and produced, a critical and commercial success.

Shetty began dating his costar Rashmika Mandanna during making of Kirik Party, and the couple got engaged on 3 July 2017 in a private ceremony in her hometown of Virajpet. The couple mutually broke off their engagement in September 2018, citing compatibility issues.