Tere Ishk Mein (2025) Movie: Dhanush and Kriti Shine, But This 3-Hour Romance Tests Your Patience

Dhanush teams up with Aanand L. Rai for the third time in Tere Ishk Mein, a love story that tries hard to be intense but ends up exhausting. Kriti Sanon joins him in this messy romance that hit theaters on November 28, 2025. Prakash Raj and Priyanshu Painyuli round out the cast.

The movie unfolds in Benaras and Delhi over nearly three hours. A.R. Rahman handles the music, which might be the best part of this whole experience. Rai wants this to feel like the next Raanjhanaa, but it misses that mark by quite a bit.

The Plot

Shankar lives with rage bubbling under his skin. He’s a college hothead who can’t let go of his mother’s death. Dhanush plays him as someone constantly on edge, ready to explode. Then there’s Mukti, a PhD student who thinks she can fix violent people through psychology.

She picks Shankar as her guinea pig, which sounds like a terrible idea from the start. But they fall for each other anyway. The relationship crashes when Mukti realizes she’s been using him for research. She bails, gets engaged to someone else, and leaves Shankar devastated.

Fast forward some years. Shankar’s now in the Air Force, trying to outrun his past. Mukti shows up in Leh to evaluate his mental state. She’s pregnant with another man’s child. Old wounds rip open, and we’re stuck watching them figure out what went wrong between flashbacks and present-day drama.

Acting That Saves This Movie

Dhanush gives everything to this role. When he’s angry, you feel it. When he’s broken, it hurts to watch. I found myself caring about Shankar even when the character makes stupid choices. His eyes do so much work in quiet moments – you see years of pain without a single word spoken.

Kriti Sanon surprised me here. She doesn’t just stand pretty next to Dhanush. Mukti feels like a real person caught between her dreams and her heart. Kriti holds her own in heavy scenes, which can’t be easy opposite someone like Dhanush. She makes you understand why Mukti does what she does, even when it seems cruel.

Prakash Raj brings warmth as the father. His scenes with Dhanush hit different – they show us who Shankar could’ve been without all that anger. Priyanshu Painyuli doesn’t waste his screen time either. He plays the friend who actually cares, not just a plot device.

What Actually Works

The first ninety minutes hook you. Rai knows how to build tension and create memorable moments. The scene where Mukti first approaches Shankar feels dangerous and exciting. There’s real chemistry between the leads that makes their connection believable.

Rahman’s songs lift the movie whenever it sags. Jigar Thanda especially stood out for me. The music doesn’t just play in the background – it becomes part of the storytelling. The cinematography captures Benaras beautifully, all those ghats and narrow streets.

I liked the father-son relationship more than the main romance honestly. Those scenes felt genuine and earned their emotional beats. The dialogue has punch too, giving actors meaty lines to sink their teeth into.

Where Everything Falls Apart

After intermission, the movie loses its mind. Rai throws in twists that don’t make sense. Characters make decisions that feel forced by the plot rather than natural. The second half becomes a slog through unnecessary drama and stretched-out scenes.

169 minutes is way too long for this story. I checked my phone twice, which never happens to me in theaters. The editing needed someone brave enough to cut entire sequences. That last half hour drags so much I almost left early.

Here’s my biggest problem – the movie treats toxic behavior like it’s romantic. Shankar’s violence gets justified as passion. Mukti’s savior complex gets validated as love. In 2025, we should be past this nonsense. The film acts like destroying someone else’s life because you’re hurt is somehow noble or deep.

They don’t even play the full title track, which already has millions of views online. Why waste your biggest song? Also, the ending tries too hard to be profound and just ends up confusing.

What People Are Saying

Critics mostly gave it 3/5. Bollywood Hungama praised the performances but called out the weak second half. Hindustan Times said Dhanush and Kriti elevate uneven material. 123telugu.com went lower at 2.75/5, noting how the second half collapses.

The Week wrote a harsh review questioning why we’re still glorifying violent men in movies. IMDb users are kinder at 7.8/10, which shows the gap between critics and regular viewers. Twitter was all over the place – some loved the emotional intensity, others called it triggering and problematic.

I read reviews from people who walked out halfway through. Others said they cried multiple times. This movie clearly hits different people in completely different ways. The divide seems to be whether you can overlook toxic relationship dynamics for the sake of performances and music.

My Bottom Line

Tere Ishk Mein wastes two brilliant actors on a story that doesn’t know when to stop. The first half builds something interesting, then the second half tears it down with overlong scenes and questionable messages. Dhanush and Kriti deserve better material than this.

If you’re a die-hard fan of either lead, go watch it for their performances alone. They truly give everything they have. But if you want a complete, satisfying movie experience, you’ll leave frustrated. The runtime kills any momentum. The problematic themes feel outdated and irresponsible.

Rahman’s music is gorgeous though. Maybe just listen to the soundtrack instead of sitting through three hours of beautiful people making terrible decisions. I wanted to love this movie because I love both actors. Instead, I’m just tired after watching it.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars