Manmadan Ambu

Manmadhan Ambu received mixed reviews from critics. The Indian Express gave 3 out of 5, claiming that "Manmadhan Ambu has all the elements of a good entertainer, but still something seems to be lacking. However, overall, the film is entertaining and enjoyable".[18] Behindwoods gave 2.5 out of 5 and stated "Overall, Manmadhan Ambu is an entertainer but in parts",[19] while Mid Day wrote "Manmadhan Ambu does impress but it lacks the punch to captivate the audiences".[15] Rediff gave 3 out of 5, claiming that "Manmadhan Ambu defies characterization as either a romantic film or a comedy, largely because the two don't mix".[20] Sify gave 3 out of 5, said, "Manmadhan Ambu is consistently engaging. Cleverly written and sharply cast, it is a film that delivers hearty laughs. It is one of those rare Tamil films that's funny and smart at the same time".[21] Indiaglitz said, "Manmadhan Ambu may not be a Panchatanthiram or Dasavathaaram, but a perfect holiday entertainer with Kamal stamp all over it."[22] Malathi Rangarajan of The Hindu stated that, "Sprinkled with humour, joy, love, sadness and sentiment with an undercurrent of jealousy running through it, MMA [Manmadhan Ambu] is a cocktail of emotions – tasty, but at times queer!".[23] NDTV resident editor T.S. Sudhir wrote, "Don't go expecting a Panchatantiram from the Kamal-K. S. Ravikumar combo, for you will be disappointed. MMA has starting trouble and one hour into the film, you are desperately waiting for the comic fireworks to start, given that the film has been marketed as a laugh riot. The riot, when it happens post the interval, leaves you with a feeling of being shortchanged." He further mentioned, "The problem with MMA is as much with Kamal as with the audience for you expect nothing short of brilliance from this Master of all trades. In MMA, Kamal has shot the Cupid's arrow (which is what Manmadhan Ambu means) rather lazily. Go without expecting a world record in archery!"[24] The New Indian Express wrote "the first half moves at a brisk pace, with some genuine fun moments, and crackling one-liners, all with the promise of more good times to come. But the second half fizzles out totally as the script nosedives never to recover", and also the movie plot takes its inspiration from the old Hollywood comedy, Romance on the High Seas.[25]

The Telugu dubbed version of the film, Manmadha Baanam, also opened to mixed reviews from critics. Jeevi from Idlebrain gave the film 3 out of 5 rating and stated "The comedy in this film is predictable at times and fresh in certain scenes. The plus points of the movie are main leads and comedy quotient. On the flipside, the characters and narration becomes confusing towards end and the editing should have been smoother. On a whole, Manmadha Banam is a decent comedy."[26] Reviewer from 123 Telugu also gave the film 3 out of 5 and said "Manmadha Banam is an interesting movie. It has flaws, but its good parts outweigh them by far."[27] Deepa Garimella from Full Hyderabad gave the film 7 out of 10 rating and stated that "While the movie is immensely enjoyable, thanks to the well-conceptualized scenes and the stellar performances all round, it is slow. So slow, in fact, that it feels like 2 movies – pre-interval being a drama and post-interval a comedy." and she also praised the performances of the actors.[28] Y. Sunita Chowdary from Cinegoer said "Manmadha Banam does have a plot but the character development, narration and the pace makes it a very restless and a tedious watch." and was critical about the dubbing. She finally concluded by stating that "The film could have drawn a little wider audience than the filmmakers intended, if the length would have been a half an hour shorter."[29]

Manmadhan Ambu grossed ₹46.2 million (US$650,000) in Chennai alone over a period of 4 weeks. In UK, it grossed first week $77,360[30] and in Malaysia $653,942. Sify declared the film as "average".[31]

The album received positive reviews from music critics. C. Karthik from Behindwoods rated the album 3/5 and quoted "Overall, DSP can be very proud of this album as he has deviated from his normal offerings. A westernised folk song, jazz, melodies, a poem and a kuthu...an album could not ask for more variety and DSP has delivered. Though the music gets a little heavy at times, he has Kamal, with his voice and lyrics, to save him. The new experiments shows his maturity and his intention for being innovative. With the movie's release soon, the songs must be playing non-stop on air."[32] Pavithra Srinivasan of Rediff also gave the album 3/5 saying that "DSP has a reputation for sticking with his regulation format of tunes and here too, you can see it pop up at certain places but there's also a departure from the usual, mostly an influence of Haasan in both lyrics and music. Whatever the reason, the end result is an album that provides you a treat. Go for it."[4] Indiaglitz said "Overall, this film must have been a different experience for DSP who all along dwelled in fast rhythmic world. The whole album has an up market western jazz feel except for that one song. For a story that happens in Europe, DSP has done it right, we guess."[35]