Critical response A critic from
The Times of India scored the film at 2.5 out of 5 stars and says "Hats off to Vijay for his brilliance in action sequences. Rangayana Raghu, Avinash excel. Ragini Dwivedi and Catherine are okay. While Gurukiran's music is average, Dasari Srinivasarao has done a good job as cinematographer". Shruti Indira Lakshminarayana from
Rediff.com scored the film at 1.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "The climax gets a little preachy and the length could have definitely been shorter. But if you are a Vijay fan, then you won't mind this one bit". A critic from
The New Indian Express wrote "As far as Vijay’s performance is concerned, he is at his best in the action scenes. He has also improved a lot in dialogue delivery. But had he made a little bit effort to pronounce the dialogues clearly, it would be better. The police station scene where Vijay is seen in tears looks incongruous". B S Srivani from
Deccan Herald wrote "Apart from stilted dialogue delivery, the Black Cobra’s preparations are underutilised. Ravi Varma’s action is good. Playing an able adversary is Rangayana Raghu, whose recent choice of roles has changed for the better. Newcomer model Catherine Treasa is good. Ragini is a fast learner and a looker in a sari as well! Gurukiran fails to impress. Though a tad lengthy, “Shankar IPS” doesn't disappoint". A critic from
Bangalore Mirror wrote "The film is a reminder of films with Saikumar as a cop. It is fun to imagine him delivering these kind of dialogues in his exaggerated style. Vijay is partly convincing in this role. Newcomer Catherine shows potential and sings of growing as an actress. A tedious film to watch". == References ==