Box office The film was a commercial success at the box office.
Shikkar released on 9 September in Kerala,
Chennai and
Bangalore made an extraordinary opening in 110 screens. It grossed in 8 days from 110 screens, which was phenomenal for a Malayalam film at that time. And took distributor share of around from 8 days. It was found at the number one position at the
Kerala box-office among the
Ramzan releases. The film made at a budget of , collected as distributor share from first two weeks.
The New Indian Express called it an "ultimate winner".
Shikkar came at second place in the third week. The film collected over in 20 days.
Critics review Shibu B. S of
The New Indian Express praised the cinematography of Manoj Pillai and Mohanlal's performance. He commented "The story is as old as the history of revenge sagas. However, scriptwriter has done a commendable job compared with his earlier scripts like
Thaandavam, and has tried to inject oodles of energy". Paresh C. Palicha of
Rediff.com rated 2/5 stars and said "Suresh Babu's script seems to be heavily inspired by two recent, much-discussed films;
Madhupal's
Thalappavu and
Blessy's
Bhramaram. The subject of
Naxalism seems borrowed from the former while the edgy-eerie feel has been taken from the latter." and concluded as "Young Padmakumar tried to make Shikkar a mass-entertainer as well as a film with artistic merit; unfortunately, it falls somewhere in between". He appreciated the camera works of Manoj Pillai. Veeyen of
Nowrunning.com awarded 2/5 stars and said "There are no directorial flourishes visible in Padmakumar's Shikkar that is old wine in an older bottle. As much as it remains a visual delight, the mysteries that it offers do not much thrill, and the story that it tells seldom excites". he highly praised the cinematography saying, "The real hero of the film is none other than cinematographer Manoj Pillai, the camerawork of the film seems like an adventure in itself".
Sify gave the verdict "very good" and said, "This film is far from being perfect especially in its first half, but it has been packaged quite well. With some superb performances, brilliant visuals, reasonably engaging script and nice music", he gave special mention to Manoj Pillai's camera and Ranjan Abraham's editing and was highly enthusiastic about Mohanlal's performance.
Indiaglitz.com reviewer stated "The highlight of the story by Suresh Babu is that even if you may find the story a damn regular after the show, the narrative techniques used and the finesse in keeping the suspense element till the last 30 minutes, succeeds big time". And appreciated cinematography and Mohanlal's performance saying, "The movie remains a visual treat with Manoj Pillai working at his helm, panning over the landscapes and lush green forests with some real adventurous shots. The other highlight naturally remains Mohanlal. ==Accolades==