Aanand L Rai Opens Up About Dhanush's Tere Ishk Mein, Says It's As 'Tragic' As Raanjhanaa But...

Aanand L Rai has been preparing for his next directorial Tere Ishk Mein, starring Dhanush in the lead role. The movie was announced in 2023 with a teaser, showing the Tamil actor, in a fierce look as he throws a burning bottle. Now, almost a year later, the director has opened up about the plot of the film and revealed why he offered the role to Dhanush. For the unversed, the movie marks the reunion of Aanand and Dhanush after Atrangi Re (2021)

Why has Aanand L Rai roped in Dhanush for Tere Ishk Mein?

In an interview with PTI, the director revealed that he will kick off the pre-production work of Tere Ishk Mein in October and the movie will go on the floors in January 2025. He further revealed why he roped in Dhanush and said the actor falls in his comfort zone. When he's challenging himself with these kinds of layered stories, he needs "great pillars" with him to hold it and Dhanush is one of them for Aanand L Rai. "Whenever I’ve got a heavyweight story, I want to go to a bigger actor, and Dhanush is the one I rely on," he added.

Tere Ishk Mein is from the world of Raanjhanaa

The director further hinted that Tere Ishk Mein and Raanjhanaa have thematic similarities but the former is not a sequel. “It is from the world of Raanjhanaa, but is it Raanjhanaa 2? No, it is not. When I say the world of Raanjhanaa, I’m talking from the maker's perspective, that I’m spending on the emotions which were there in Raanjhanaa," he continued.

The director added that "both are tragedies" and both have "anger and rage" while love stories are layered. Owing to this, it is from the world of Raanjhanaa as it has got both. However, still, both are different stories.

Aanand L Rai and Dhanush have worked together on two movies, Raanjhanaa and Atrangi Re, both were commercially successful.