In the high-stakes world of Bollywood, creative sequels often lead to courtroom dramas. As of January 2026, the film Tere Ishk Mein, starring Dhanush and Kriti Sanon, finds itself at the center of a massive legal battle. Eros International Media Ltd has filed an ₹84 crore lawsuit in the Bombay High Court against filmmaker Aanand L. Rai and his production house, Color Yellow Media.
The Core of the Conflict
Eros International, the producers of the 2013 cult hit Raanjhanaa, accuses Rai of “illegally riding on the goodwill” of the original film. The lawsuit centers on the marketing of Tere Ishk Mein as a “spiritual sequel” to Raanjhanaa. Eros claims it holds the “exclusive ownership of all intellectual property rights” for the 2013 film, including character names, dialogues, and the right to create sequels or prequels.
The legal battle identifies several specific triggers:
- Promotional Phrases: The teaser for Tere Ishk Mein used slogans like “From the world of Raanjhanaa” and the hashtag #WorldOfRaanjhanaa.
- Character Overlap: Actor Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub plays a character named Murari in both films. Eros argues this is an “unauthorized reproduction” of a character they own.
- Thematic Mirroring: The lead character played by Dhanush is named Shankar, which Eros claims too closely mirrors his iconic character Kundan Shankar from the first film.
A Timeline of Escalation
The friction between Eros and Aanand L. Rai did not start overnight. In July 2025, Eros issued a cease-and-desist notice to the filmmakers. While some references to Raanjhanaa were removed from promotional materials, Eros alleges that the final film, released on November 28, 2025, still contained “extensive copyright and trademark infringement.”
The situation grew even more tense when Rai publicly criticized Eros in August 2025 for re-releasing Raanjhanaa in Tamil with an AI-modified ending without his consent. Eros fired back, suggesting Rai’s outbursts were a “calculated PR maneuver” to distract from his own legal and governance challenges.
Multi-Party Legal Battle
Eros has not restricted the lawsuit to just Aanand L. Rai. The suit also names:
- Colour Yellow Media: Rai’s production banner.
- T-Series (Super Cassettes Industries): The co-producers of the new film.
- Himanshu Sharma: The writer of both Raanjhanaa and Tere Ishk Mein.
- Netflix India: The OTT platform scheduled to stream the film starting January 23, 2026.
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