Rediff.com noted "Technically, the film manages to scrape through; it's the script that stumbles and almost grinds to a halt frequently, while the cast itself looks clueless and plain out of it, at times. Logic has gone for a toss as well and of reason, there's very little".
Times of India wrote "Decades ago when Muthuvel Karunanidhi’s dialogues hit the silver screen, they were agents of change, awakening social consciousness. His latest film, which released on his 87th birthday, was hyped as a contemporary film. However, although the film deals with current day issues [..], the dialogues are sorely lacking in the criticism and searing commentary of his early writings. Unlike his dialogues in films like ‘Parasakthi’ which moved audi-ences and inspired generations, this one is as awe inspiring as a zoo lion. To a large extent, the film's failure is also due to terrible act-ing by the lead pair".
Hindustan Times wrote "The scripting and direction are so casual that the film often appears jerky, and with performances that are terribly amateurish, Penn Singam is awfully disappointing". ==References==