According to historian B. Vijayakumar, Kulavilakku follows a trope that was common in 1950s/1960s Indian cinema: "The heroine struggling and sacrificing her lifefor the people she loved, even though they were not related to her".
Kulavilakku was released on 14June 1969. On the same day The Indian Express wrote, "The great asset of the film is the story and the dialogue", and also praised the performance of the cast, particularly Saroja Devi.