Filmed in both black and white as well as Gevacolor, Nadodi Mannan was released on 22 August 1958 and garnered positive critical reception.

Nadodi Mannan acquired cult status in Tamil cinema, and became a turning point for Ramachandran in terms of both his acting and political career.

Vijayavarman asks him to stay in an isolated palace on the outskirts and tells him that he should not meet his wife Manohari until the coronation, as the current moment is inauspicious.

[3] Ramachandran had dreamt of making his own film ever since he attended a screening of Frank Lloyd's historical drama, If I Were King (1938) starring Ronald Colman, in Calcutta.

[3] K. Ramnoth was appointed initially to direct the film, but died before production began resulting in Ramachandran taking over the position himself, thereby making his directorial debut.

[d] Two days later, Bharani Pictures, the production company co-founded by P. S. Ramakrishna Rao and P. Bhanumathi, released an advertisement for a film whose concept was similar to The Prisoner of Zenda.

After much deliberation, Ramachandran told Bhanumathi that he was keeping "only the section of a commoner switched to king" in the original, while the rest of the film would be different.

[28] K. R. Ramsingh was selected for the role of Madhana and Bhupathi's father, Veerabahu, after Ramachandran was impressed by his performance in one of the stage plays he featured in.

C. P. Jambulingam took responsibility for editing the film's colour portions after Perumal suddenly fell ill.[36] The final length of Nadodi Mannan was 19,830 feet (6,040 m).

Thirdly, the character of Vijayavarman, and the sequences in Kanni Theevu, do not feature in the original, while these were incorporated as part of Nadodi Mannan's main plot.

[7] Kantha points out that the protagonist featured in a "riding scene with an educational (or philosophical) song" with "either the heroine or a side-kick (comedian) or an actor in a minor role" alongside him is a recurring theme in many films starring Ramachandran.

[3] R. Ilangovan of Frontline magazine believed the lyrics for "Summa Kedandha", which were written by Pattukkottai Kalyanasundaram who was a member of the Communist Party of India, "are a classic example of how he presented forcefully the idea of radical reforms".

Ilangovan mentions the presentation of reforms by Kalyanasundaram in the song is indicated by two lines: "Kadu velanchenna machan, namakku kaiyum, kalum thane mitcham" (What if the fields are lush with crops, we are left with mere hands and legs) reflects a pessimistic tone, while “Kadu vilayttum ponnae, namakku kalam irukkuthu pennae” (Let the fields sprout, young lady, our time will come), presents an optimistic feel.

[37] Nadodi Mannan is considered by many critics, historians and intellectuals to be a propaganda film of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) as Ramachandran was affiliated with the party at that time.

[1] Both Vaasanthi and another film historian, Selvaraj Velayutham, mention a scene where Ramachandran issues a decree that can be passed off as "a DMK election manifesto".

[40][e] According to both Erik Barnouw and Sisir Kumar Das, the song "Senthamizhe" represents the glorification of the Tamil language, identity and culture.

[43] Ramachandran even went on to say, during the celebration of the film's 100th-day theatrical run, that: "Nadodi Mannan has been produced to show that the DMK is the party which is serving the people of this country.

[17][48] The track "Summa Kedandha" was written earlier for the news agency Janasakthi before Kalyansundaram used it for the film with a few minor changes in the lyrics.

[50][51] Plans for the inclusion of another track, "Kaalai Maatai Paal Karaga Paarkiraanga", were dropped since a pair of bullocks were used as the symbol of the Congress Party at that time.

When they consulted with him on this issue, he asked Veerappan and Chakrapani to tell the studio's founder A. V. Meiyappan that they would repay the loan and keep the price paid by the production company, Cinemas Limited, for distribution rights for the film's release in Sri Lanka as collateral.

[1] A review carried by Ananda Vikatan dated 7 September 1958, appreciated the film for being a commercial entertainer, describing it as a treat to the eyes.

[62] K. Jeshi from The Hindu appreciated the filmmaking techniques used to portray Ramachandran's dual roles, noting that it was "technically superior".

[1] James K. Norton, the author of the book Global Studies, India and South Asia, called the film "a prime example of how rhetoric and action were combined to build an image as a hero of the oppressed".

[2][71] The DMK party celebrated the success of Nadodi Mannan with a public function on 16 October 1958 at the Tamukkam Ground in Madurai organized by R.M.Veerappan.

[78] T. S. Subramanian of Frontline noted that it was one among many of Ramachandran's films in the 1950s where he "espoused his personal ideals such as helping the poor, being chivalrous and fighting injustice.

[80][81] In 2024, K. Sivan said that when he first joined ISRO, he was assigned to the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) project, which had experienced four consecutive failures.

[84] In their 2006 reviews of Imsai Arasan 23rd Pulikecei, both Baskaran of The Hindu, and S. Sudha of Rediff.com, mention the film shared similarities with Nadodi Mannan.

[88] Baradwaj Rangan, writing for The Hindu in 2014, mentions in his review of Kaththi that the film's basic plot was "the old Naadodi Mannan [sic] template, shaped with a relevant, burning social angle.

"[89] For the same newspaper, Namrata Joshi noted that Prem Ratan Dhan Payo (2015) bore a resemblance to Nadodi Mannan in terms of a prince's look-alike taking his place.

[91] Haasan has acknowledged various films as influences on Michael Madana Kama Rajan (1990), namely Nadodi Mannan along with Deiva Magan (1969) and Yaadon Ki Baaraat (1973).