As part of PVR and INOX’s “month of love” re-releases, the 2003 cult film Tere Naam returns to theaters today. While Himesh Reshammiya’s hits and Salman Khan’s iconic hairstyle may draw a crowd, we need to have a serious conversation: Why do we celebrate the “OG” of toxic obsession as a celebration of love? Tere Naam is perhaps the last film one should revisit while talking about love, or even trying to understand it, in 2026.
For years now, Hindi cinema has struggled against the idealization of deeply problematic male protagonists. In recent years too, there has been a trend of blurring the line between obsession and passion, from Kabir Singh to Kundan (Raanjhana), Shankar (Tere Ishk Mein) and Vikramaditya (Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat). But Tere Naam’s Radhe not only blurred those lines, he erased them completely.
Tere Naam’s Radhe is the OG of toxicity
In Tere Naam, Radhe not only pursues Nirjara (Bhumika Chawla), but stalks her and eventually kidnaps her because she does not reciprocate his feelings. He ties her up, he threatens her. In any real world scenario, that would, and should, be the end of any emotional connection and would even require a restraining order. But not in Radhe’s world, here the woman not only forgives him but falls in love, moved by his so-called “heart of gold” and his selective good deeds.
A still from Tere Naam.
In a move that feels like a punch to the sensibilities, she actually apologizes to him for misunderstanding him. This narrative suggests that a man’s violence is justifiable if his intentions are “pure.”
Throughout the first half, there are scenes that will make you squirm in your seat. On a university campus, a candidate wins an election with a manifesto promise that “no action will be taken against boys for winking at girls.”
Radhe, the hyper-masculine “savior” of the campus, leads a victory song with the lyrics: “Ishq mein naa ka matlab toh haan hota hai” (In love, ‘no’ actually means ‘yes’). Does anyone consent?
What complicates things even more is the second half of the film. Radhe’s eventual downfall and mental breakdown evoke sympathy, softening the audience’s memory of his previous actions. His fate creates a tragic arc that almost absolves him, diverting attention from his toxicity.
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Impact of films like Tere Naam
Movies like Tere Naam normalize behaviors that should immediately register as red flags. Consent is treated as a minor obstacle, stalking as romance, and possessiveness as proof of sincerity. These narratives subtly teach generations of viewers that ignoring a woman’s “no” is simply part of the “hero” journey.
A still from Tere Naam.
Even when the film was released in 2003, it was deeply problematic, but the lines between romance, obsession, and toxicity were blurred enough that audiences accepted it without many questions.
Why relaunching Tere Naam in 2026 is a bad idea
In 2026, conversations about relationships have evolved. Terms like consent, boundaries, red flags, and emotional health are no longer fringe ideas. Today’s public is much more aware of what constitutes a healthy relationship, or at least they should be. Putting this film back on the big screen risks reopening narratives that society is actively trying to unlearn.
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Tere Naam today is not just harmless nostalgia: it is a manual of warning signs. Reissuing it today risks rebranding dangerous and harmful behavior as a romantic ideal we should have left in the past.
A still from Tere Naam.
It is disturbing that this is not just a thing of the past. The “Radhe Mohan” archetype has morphed into the modern “red flag hero” and with films like Kabir Singh and Tere Ishk Mein, cinema continues to sell the lie that emotional volatility is a sign of intense love. When combined with an impressionable audience (remember recent videos of onlookers collapsing during hyperdramatic love scenes), the cultural impact becomes harder to ignore.
Love, especially in the times we live in, deserves better stories. Stories that respect consent, show that partnership is a choice, not a conquest, celebrate equality, portray emotional maturity and where the hero does not need a chair and a rope to win the heart of a girl.
