Sify wrote "Overall Karthikeya is different from regular commercial movies that dot the Telugu screen. Like we said it is a suspense thriller that mixes bhakti and rational thinking quite well to large extent and we do appreciate the producer and the actor Nikhil for attempting something novel".[49] Y. Sunita Chowdary of The Hindu wrote, "The narration is good, keeps the curiosity factor alive. There is sufficient humour and romance to keep the film balanced and the story is about the crime but about the mindset of the criminal who uses a clever mix of science and religion to plan a brilliant murder".[50]