TERE ISHK MEIN MOVIE REVIEW
Cast: Dhanush, Kriti Sanon, Prakash Raj, Tota Roy Chowdhury, Priyanshu Painyuli
Director: Aanand L Rai
Rating: 3.25/5
Aanand L Rai returns to familiar territory with Tere Ishk Mein, another exploration of love’s capacity to heal and destroy in equal measure. The film has moments that remind you why Rai remains one of Hindi cinema’s most interesting voices on romance. It also has stretches that test your patience considerably.
Shankar (Dhanush) is a volatile student union leader at a Delhi college, carrying deep-seated anger from a painful childhood. Mukti (Kriti Sanon), a psychology student, sees him as the perfect subject for her thesis on whether love can cure rage. What begins as clinical observation inevitably becomes something messier and more consuming for both.
The premise has potential, and when the film works, it works well. Dhanush commits fully to Shankar’s intensity, bringing a rawness that makes even his most questionable actions feel emotionally coherent. But it’s Kriti Sanon who surprises here. She brings a quiet confidence to Mukti, handling the character’s internal conflict with restraint and dignity. Their scenes together generate genuine heat.
The problem is everything around them. At nearly two and a half hours, the film stretches its central emotional thread until it frays. Subplots involving the Air Force and parallel timelines feel grafted on rather than organic. Strong actors like Prakash Raj are given frustratingly little to do. The Delhi setting, usually so vivid in Rai’s work, barely registers as a presence.
AR Rahman’s score does what Rahman scores do: it takes time to settle in, then quietly envelops you. A few tracks linger well after the credits roll.
Tere Ishk Mein is a film at war with itself, swinging between genuinely affecting moments and overwrought melodrama. The performances keep you invested even when the writing loses its way. It’s not Rai’s best work, but it’s not without its rewards either.