Critical response

Shruti Indira Lakshminarayana from Rediff.com scored the film at 3 out of 5 stars and says "Actresses Udayathara and Aishwarya Nag have significant roles too. Udayathara comes out with a decent performance. Songs by Emil are easy on the ears. One of his compositions goes Komal mastu Kamalu... and we gladly agree. The film comes with a good story laced with humour. There are lots of twists and turns and this keeps you hooked through and through. For two and a half hours of pure comedy, watch Kal Manja".^[2] B S Srivani from Deccan Herald wrote "The screenplay keeps one enticed with the promise of something memorable, but only just. Kavi Urs’s work leaves much to be desired. But the story and Udayatara’s competent performance make meeting Kal Manja an enjoyable experience".^[3] A critic from The New Indian Express wrote "Ishwarya Nag is beautiful but stoic throughout the movie. Thriller Manju, Raju Talikote, Sharan and Guru Prasad have provided good support.Emil has provided good music. Songs are good. It is worth watching only if you can put up with slow narration during the post-intermission session".^[4] A critic from The Times of India scored the film at 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "Udayatara and Aishwarya Nag could have done a much better job.While dialogues by Rajendra Karanth have done justice to the script, music by Emil and cinematography by T Kaviarasu are not appealing".^[5]