 The film is also said to have divided Malayalam films into three different categories, "uncompromising art films", "compromising films" which aimed at commercial success but tried maintaining a good deal of the artistic qualities, and the "commercial films" which purely aimed at box office success.Film critic Kozhikodan included "Swayamvaram" on his list of the 10 best Malayalam movies of all time.Through "Swayamvaram", Gopalakrishnan became the first Indian director to use sound as a leitmotif (a recurring musical theme).