In 2003, Rediff wrote, "In an era where every other moviemaker claims to have come up with a daring, original, premise, this 28-year-old film is worth remembering. A trademark K Balachander film, this was the first to showcase Kamal's histrionic abilities." In 2015, Tamil Canadian journalist D. B. S. Jeyaraj wrote, "Though Nagesh has acted in many different roles in Balachander films, one sequence that is perhaps best remembered is the drunkard-doctor of ["Apoorva Raagangal"]." Director Mani Ratnam credited Balachander, with J. Mahendran and C. V. Sridhar, for "weaning the audience away from theatricality", citing a scene in "Apoorva Raagangal" as an example: "The shadow of the woman upstairs drying her hair falls across the path of the rebellious young man sneaking out of the house. It is enough to stop him. This scene could have been dramatic, with lot of dialogue. Instead you get a silent visual." The film was novelised in 2008 by Vikatan Prasuram.