K. S. Sivakumaran of '' Daily News Sri Lanka '' described the film 's plot as a " hackneyed theme " and compared it to a soap opera , but appreciated Muthuraman 's performance , Kannadasan 's lyrics and Vincent 's cinematography . Writing for '' The Times of India '' , Deepauk Murugesan said , " There is no clear choice between options and while the audience is entirely aware of the right moral decision even our minds are clouded by our affections for both Dr Murali and Venu . " K. Hariharan , director of the L. V. Prasad Film and Television Academy in Chennai , noted , " The only film that could stake claim in the 1960s to an individual ' love story ' was probably Sridhar 's powerful '' Nenjil '' '' Or '' '' Aalayam '' ! And even here ' sacrifice ' takes the upper hand ! " '' Nenjil Or Aalayam '' won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil and the President 's Award for Sridhar at the 10th National Film Awards . Additionally , it won in two categories at the Film Fans ' Association Awards : Best Film and Best Director for Sridhar
10th National Film Awards
10th National Film Awards
Nenjil Or Aalayam