The Hindu opined that "The story could have been powerful and the screenplay appealing if the characters were logical in their actions and the flow had not been hampered by repulsive group dances and irrelevant sequences". Chennai Online wrote "'Sri' looks like an extension of ‘Nandha' with a slight change in ambience. It’s like they had gone and shot a few more scenes for the earlier film!". BizHat wrote "The `rowdy` genre, which seems to be hot among film makers and actors now is once again tested here by director Pushpagavasan. However, he seems to have been influenced by films of the same genre like the Mohanlal classic Kireedam and the recent Tamizh. The only saving grace of the film is the steel strong performance of Surya as Sri, the ‘dada’ with a golden heart". Cinema Today wrote "With the story itself hanging by a weak thread, its no surprise that the screenplay and characters are just drifting in and out. Poor Fans! They have only Surya's involvement with the story and the film to console themselves with".
