A critic from Rediff.com wrote that "The Kannada filmPayana starts on a promising note and ends in a fantastic climax. It has some interesting sequences in the middle too". A critic from IANS wrote that "'Payana' is a must watch, feel-good film". A critic from Bangalore Mirror wrote that "Except for the songs, though they look like remixed versions of Mungaaru Male, there is nothing worthwhile in the film". A critic from Indiaglitz wrote that "Slash 40 minutes of the film and you could watch this one".