Upon release, Sri Valli received critical acclaim and went on to become a commercially successful venture at box office.

Prior to the commencement of shooting, Meiyappan and his wife visited key Lord Murugan temples to seek forgiveness if by oversight makes any mistakes in any of the scenes from the film.

[2] The film was made on a budget of ₹2 lakh (worth ₹15 crore in 2021 prices) and returned 900 per cent on investment for AVM.

[3] Kumari Rukmini who earlier appeared as child artist in films like Balayogini (1937) was signed as Meiyappan felt that her eyes will be a big attraction.

[3] The film was shot at the Pragathi Studio and the outdoor scenes were picturised in and around Adyar, including the Theosophical Society premises.

[5] The original story was based on a folk tale which describes the romance between Lord Muruga and Valli, a tribal girl.

Initially exhibited as stage plays, the story was developed into a silent film titled Valli Thirumanam in 1921.

Another version titled Valli Kalyanam released the same year where Sundar Rao Nadkarni enacted the lead role.

[6] The music was composed by TR Rajagopal Sharma and R Sudarsanam respectively while lyrics were written by Papanasam Sivan and Raja Gopal Iyer.

[7] In his book Pride of Tamil Cinema, 1931 to 2013, G. Dhananjayan stated that the film's success was "largely boosted by TR Mahalingam and Periyanayaki's excellent songs".

[7] Randor Guy of The Hindu wrote that the film was remembered for "the melodious music and hit songs of Mahalingam and Periyanayaki".