performs his role "exceedingly well, carrying the film on his firm shoulders" while noting Singh "suffers due to poor characterisation and ... fails to impress". Adarsh criticised Jha for addressing topics he believed are not suitable for the modern audience, and added the film has an "oft-repeated theme". Deepa Gumaste of Rediff.com stated; "Ajay Devgan pulls up an ace with a part tailormade to reinforce his seething-under-the-surface angry hero image. To his credit ... he brings style and grace to a largely stereotypical, righteous protagonist. To a great extent, his presence covers up the film's patchiness in the second half." The Indo-Asian News Service said Devgn's "languorous body language and pinched, anguished expression confer a newness to a largely hackneyed role". In a review in Filmfare, Dominic Ferrao praised the "flawless" screenplay and Jha for "[extracting] the best from the cast". According to Ferrao, Devgn "vindicates his talent ... and comes out with flying fists and even higher flying colours as far as emotive abilities are concerned". Screen said Jha had given the film "a unique flavour" with "the upright stance of the hero, who never turns renegade and remains true to the law to the very end", and appreciated him showing the "eye-for-an-eye kind of revenge too is harmful for the society in the long run and the only solution lies in sprucing up the system". Nahta said Jha had successfully entertained the audience although the film's subject may be similar that of an art film, which he believed would not be popular with contemporaneous audiences. Anupama Chopra of India Today said Devgn's "first-rate" performance is supported by those of Tiwari and the other supporting cast, and that Gangaajal "loses steam" after its second-half, attributing the issue to the exaggerated use of violence scenes and the water setting of the ending. In his three-star review, Jitesh Pillai concluded the supporting cast had delivered solid performances, and described Devgn as the film's "terrific" and "note-perfect" performer. Sify's Lata Khubchandani said Jha tells the story in a convincing manner and that "promises to be very watchable". In another article for the website, Kunal Shah wrote Gangaajal is "rich" in the content and "good" in the technical aspect. He said Devgn's "brilliant" performance would "glue" the audience to their seats but criticised several of the film's sequences for being "predictable", though said it is still "watchable". Mayank Shekhar from Mid-Day noted Jha