D. S. Ramanujam from
The Hindu gave the film a positive review, praising the director's work. Kala Krishnan Ramesh from
Deccan Herald mentioned that the film is "visually a delight, the songs and music are pleasant, especially when they harmonise with the locations, which they don't always." The reviewer adds that "Prashanth is alright though he seems a little narcissistic, you always feel that he's looking at a mirror someone's holding up. The heroine is new, and not unpleasant. Srividya is wasted, though brightening." G. Ulaganathan from
The New Indian Express wrote that both Prashanth and Koppikar performed well and "Prashanth, especially after his
Jeans has matured as an actor". R. P. R. of
Kalki praised the acting of Manivannan and Ambika and poetic dialogues and felt the characterisation of parents of both main leads were more memorable than the lead pair but questioned Agathiyan for reusing the plot of his
Kadhal Kottai instead of coming up with something new while panning the acting of Prashanth and Kasthuri's character design and concluded saying certain special features from the film may not attract the attention of fans because it is a familiar story but if you think the story doesn't matter, there are many other aspects of the film to consider. Prashanth, with
Kaadhal Kavithai, capped off a hat-trick of hit films in 1998 after the successes of Shankar's
Jeans and Ravichandran's
Kannedhirey Thondrinal. Koppikar won plaudits from critics for her performance with Rediff.com stating that with her "strong screen presence, and acting skills that belie her newbie status, she could be the latest to storm the TN industry". She went on to win the
Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut – South. == References ==