Tere Ishk Mein

The latest entrant in Bollywood’s twisted math of intense love = toxicity and male entitlement is Tere Ishk Mein. Which doesn’t come as a surprise considering that this is not new terrain for director Aanand L. Rai. The man is a repeat offender, having glorified stalking and toxic masculinity packaged as a tragic tale of unrequited love a dozen years ago in Raanjhanaa. That Tere Ishk Mein is said to be set in the same universe as Raanjhanaa is significant; that it is backed by a production house (T-Series) which has put monies on films like Animal and Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety is even more telling.

Things are very easy in Aanand L Rai’s world. A local goon who doesn’t know the full form of UPSC in one scene can clear the prelims in the next. A man who is in and out of jail for creating a ruckus on campus can become one of the bravest officers of the Indian Air Force. A raging alcoholic, who is popping anxiety pills by the hour, is a counsellor for the Defence forces (god save our soldiers from such counsellors) and given the task to counsel a problematic officer at the Indo-China border, while she is herself 9 months pregnant. Call it easy or indulgence, but Rai’s latest film Tere Ishk Mein- starring Dhanush and Kriti Sanon- has plenty of such obscure stuff decorating a very problematic story. The film celebrates toxicity like a festival, and glorifies pain and suffering in the name of love.

Director Aanand L Rai’s new film poses an old question: can love douse the flames that violence sparks? Its search for an answer takes it nowhere in particular. But inevitably for a film dedicated to “Mahadev and his Ganga”, Tere Ishk Mein makes a brief stopover in the holy city of Benaras, where a priest-philosopher (Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub in a special appearance) holds forth on love, death and salvation.