Anand L Rai has always thrived in the space of high-voltage emotions, unusual love stories, and rooted drama. His breakthrough film Tanu Weds Manu (2011), with R. Madhavan and Kangana Ranaut, blended small-town quirks with an engaging screenplay that gave him a distinct identity. He then pushed the boundaries with Raanjhanaa (2013), where Dhanush’s fiery Bollywood debut earned critical and audience attention despite the polarising treatment of obsession and morality in love. Later, his Atrangi Re (2021) again attempted an unconventional spin on relationships, with Dhanush, Sara Ali Khan, and Akshay Kumar, drawing both praise for its ambition and flak for narrative incoherence.
Coming off that trajectory, Tere Ishk Mein, positioned as a standalone sequel to Raanjhanaa, feels like Rai circling back to his most charged territory—the collision of love, pain, and intensity. Scheduled for release on 28th November 2025, the teaser makes it clear that this is not a conventional romance.
Dhanush, once again Rai’s muse, is paired with Kriti Sanon, and their chemistry instantly sparks curiosity. The teaser’s most striking moments—Kriti’s stunned expression at seeing Dhanush, the haunting voiceover, and Dhanush’s chilling dialogue as he pours ‘Ganga Jal’ over Kriti in a wedding setting—point to a storyline soaked in betrayal, penance, and retribution. Add to this the teaser recall, where Kriti stands drenched in kerosene/petrol while lighting a cigarette, deepens the film’s mystery: what transgression has her character committed, and how far will Dhanush’s character go to reclaim or destroy love?
Rai’s strength has always been in creating small-town authenticity, heightened with music that lingers longer than the frames themselves. If Raanjhanaa’s A.R. Rahman score set the tone for doomed love, Tere Ishk Mein will once again be expected to ride on a music-heavy narrative—an element audiences strongly associate with Rai’s films. Moreover, his unapologetic leaning towards moral complexity means that this film is unlikely to play it safe.
The teaser positions Tere Ishk Mein as a story of love that burns rather than soothes. It looks set to challenge audience comfort zones, staying true to Rai’s brand of not-for-the-faint-hearted narratives. The combination of Rai’s intensity, Dhanush’s proven screen power, and Kriti Sanon’s growing stature adds up to a project with both risk and reward—the kind of cinema that may polarise but rarely goes unnoticed.
