The film stars Antony Varghese, Vinayakan, Chemban Vinod Jose, Tito Wilson and Arya Salim.

Jacob shares his desire with another inmate named Simon, who initially disagreed and later agreed as he wants to meet his family.

Jacob digs a hole through the toilet of his cell down the drainage and into the compound, where he starts building the tunnel a bit-by-bit with the help of Devassy, Ramu and two other thieves, who are basically twins who initially hated the escape plan, but later agreed after learning that they have been falsely accused.

Appachan sends some goons in the prison to brutally torture Jacob so that he would confess about Charlie's location and then kill him.

Pappachan describes the film as an "action thriller" with the story set in a sub-jail and revolving around prisoners in remand.

Swathanthryam Ardharathriyil falls into the latter genre with its applaudable treatment, which forces the viewer to turn a blind eye to any shortcomings, including the small loose ends.

"[4] Nitya Punnackal of Onmanorama gave 3/5 stars and wrote "Like every jailbreak movie ever, the lead character makes a flawless plan, yet brings a surprise element to his fellow escapees and audience.

"[5] Sanjith Sidhardhan of The Times of India gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote "Contrary to the film’s trailer, the violence is minimum in this taut action thriller, which prides itself in using the smarts; and that’s what makes this jailbreak movie an arresting watch.

"[6] Anna MM Vetticad of Firstpost wrote "If Swathanthriyam Ardharathriyil still remains entertaining, it is because Pappachan’s adept direction, his cast’s appeal and his tech team’s sophistication keep the thrills going when all else falters.

The atmospherics, the haunting ugliness of that prison complex and the suspense hold out enough excitement to make this a watchable albeit flawed film.