When it was first released, "Agneepath" was a flop, both at the box office as well as among the critics. Karan Johar recounts in an interview how younger city-based audiences thought it was a cool film. "Over the top, inane songs", dialogues "veering towards melodrama" and, more importantly, Amitabh Bachchan's experimentation with his voice did not go well with the masses and the critics alike. Film Trade Analyst Komal Nahta wrote thus about Bachchan's voice: "But the biggest undoing of the film is Amitabh Bachchan’s voice. He has spoken the dialogue in a different voice (similar to what Marlon Brando did in "The Godfather") which will not be accepted by the audience. Further the mixing not being clear, his dialogues are incomprehensible at places." He further wrote that the film lacked a gripping drama, well-set script, and that even the murder scenes lacked excitement. Satish Naidu in his review noted that the narrative had a slow pace in the last hour. Another fact that worked against the advantage of the film was its weak story. Rediff.com's review of "Agneepath" suggested that perhaps, the grim, violent, aggressive, and dark portrayal of the underbelly of Bombay's underworld had worked against the film.