Aanand L Rai has responded to the ₹84 crore lawsuit filed against him by Eros International Media Ltd, regarding alleged intellectual property violations related to his film Tere Ishq Mein, which was released in November 2025. Eros International claims that Rai and his production banner, Colour Yellow Media Entertainment LLP, unlawfully leveraged the intellectual property of his 2013 film Raanjhanaa while promoting Tere Ishq Mein.
Eros International asserts it possesses exclusive rights to Raanjhanaa, including its copyright, registered trademarks, characters, dialogues, and rights to sequels or remakes. The company alleges that these elements were used without permission to create a creative or narrative link between the two films. In addition to Aanand L Rai and Colour Yellow Media Entertainment LLP, Eros has also named Netflix and T-Series in the lawsuit, which is currently being heard in the Bombay High Court.
The legal dispute was reportedly triggered by a teaser for Tere Ishq Mein released in July 2025. Eros claims the teaser featured phrases, visual cues, background score elements, and references that alluded to the Raanjhanaa universe. They specifically point to the use of the phrase "from the world of Raanjhanaa" in the teaser as suggestive of a connection between the two films. Eros also highlights the similarities between the characters in both films, noting that Dhanush's character is named Shankar in Tere Ishq Mein, similar to his character Kundan Shankar in Raanjhanaa. Additionally, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub plays a character named Murari in both films.
In response to the lawsuit, Aanand L Rai has downplayed the matter, calling it a routine business dispute best left to the lawyers. In an interview with NDTV, Rai stated, "These are part of life. When you step into business, such things keep happening. I don't even know why, how, or from where this has come. But I think it is a legal matter, so let the legal people handle it". He added, "There is a lawyer on their side, and a lawyer from here will respond too. I don't think it has any meaning. Anyone can say anything about anything at any time". Rai maintains that the allegations should not be taken too seriously. "Since it's a legal matter, I won't speak much about it, but it's nothing serious," he said.
Tere Ishq Mein, which stars Dhanush and Kriti Sanon, is described as a "spiritual sequel" to Raanjhanaa. The film follows Shankar (Dhanush), who develops a relationship with Mukti (Kriti Sanon) while she conducts her PhD research on him. The film is produced by Colour Yellow Productions and T-Series Films, with music composed by A. R. Rahman. Tere Ishq Mein was released in theaters on November 28, 2025, and is scheduled to be released on Netflix on January 23, 2026.
