"Thevar Magan" attained cult status in Tamil cinema. Rajan Krishnan, PhD scholar in Film Studies from Columbia University, said "it was Kamal Hassan who brought that sickle bearing genre". He added, "I would like to propose that it is a Kamal Hassan film of high authenticity markers called "Thevar Magan" that can be said to have inaugurated the era of the south being represented as primarily a sickle bearing space". Stalin Rajangam, writer, who has extensively written on the ‘caste component and narrative structures of Tamil films concurred, saying that ""Thevar Magan" was first of its kind with stronger idioms of caste and glorification of caste-based practices". Tamil writer S. Ramakrishnan said that "Thevar Magan" captured "the very essence of the south Tamil Nadu's rural culture". Vadivelu considered the film a "turning point" in his career.