While at the police station, Srinivasan locks horns with an inmate in jail and when he pushes him in a fit of rage, he sustains a serious head injury subsequently killing him.

[9] Post release, members of the regional censor board complained that the promos of Adhu Oru Kana Kaalam were being shown on television without mentioning that the film had an "A" (adults only) certificate.

At the time of censoring, Balu Mahendra was not willing to cut the deep lip-to-lip kissing scenes between the lead pair of Dhanush and Priyamani and opted for an A certificate, which he subsequently refused to note down in the promotions.

[11] Sify wrote, "A fragile looking Dhanush looks bewildered and lost throughout while Priya Mani has tried her best to do justice to her character [...] The songs tuned by Ilayaraja falls flat.

[13] SRA of The Hindu noted that "excelling in technical aspects, the film falls short in the area of storyline.

"[14] Lajjavathi of Kalki praised Dhanush's acting and added that the moderate storyline and melodious music can both please the fans with quality taste like peacock feathers.

[16] Adhu Oru Kana Kaalam opened alongside other big films like Vijay-starrer Sivakasi and the Vikram-starrer Majaa.