It was reported that the movie is based on the true story of Anita Narre from Madhya Pradesh, who refused to go back to her husband Shivram's home because it had no toilet.

Keshav meets Jaya, an educated college going girl, falls in love with her and eventually convinces her to marry him.

But Keshav's father remains steadfast on his decision to not have a toilet in his house, until one day, his mother, while going out to defecate, falls on the doorstep, injures her hip and cries vehemently that she can't possibly walk to the fields to defecate, and that she must use the toilet that Keshav constructed in the front yard.

[10][21] Filmmaker Praveen Vyas sent a legal notice to the makers, claiming that Toilet- Ek Prem Katha plagiarised scenes and dialogues from his documentary Manini, based on the same subject.

[22] Prime Minister Narendra Modi called it a good effort to further the message of cleanliness, as per Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.

[23][24] In December 2017, Bill Gates listed Toilet: Ek Prem Katha as one of the six positive things that happened in 2017.

[30] Bollywood Hungama praised the performances of the lead actors of the film but criticized the long length and inconsistent screenplay, and concluded the review by giving the film a rating of 3 stars out of 5, saying that, "On the whole, Toilet – Ek Prem Katha, despite the minuses, integrates a strong social message with entertainment wonderfully and also questions several age old practises in the society.

"[31] Rachit Gupta of Filmfare gave the film a rating of 3.5 stars out of 5 and said, "Toilet – Ek Prem Katha is a solid entertainer with a strong social message.

It may not have the most polished screenplay, but director Shree Narayan Singh's deft handling of the subject makes the most out of its noble intentions.

"[33] Rohit Vats of Hindustan Times gave it 2.5 stars out of 5, saying, "Ek Prem Katha endorses the Indian government’s Swacch Bharat Abhiyaan so seriously that after a point it starts to look like that Priyanka Bharti ad featuring Vidya Balan".

[35] Anna MM of Firstpost rated it 1.5/5, saying, "The tragedy of Toilet: Ek Prem Katha is that minus stalking and the chamchagiri, it could have been a good film".

[36] Rohit Bhatnagar of Deccan Chronicle gave the film 3.5/5 and said, "Akshay Kumar, Bhumi Pednekar and Divyendu Sharma are sure to win you over with their quirky yet brilliant acts".

"[39] Prime Minister Narendra Modi called it a good effort to further the message of cleanliness, as per Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.

[40][41] In December 2017, Bill Gates listed Toilet: Ek Prem Katha as one of the six positive things that happened in 2017.

The first track of the film, titled "Hans Mat Pagli", sung by Sonu Nigam and Shreya Ghoshal, was released online on 28 June 2017.

The song "Toilet Ka Jugaad", sung by Akshay Kumar and Vickey Prasad, was included in the film but was not released along with the soundtrack.