[Source: Bollywood Hungama]

TERE ISHK MEIN is the story of an angry man in love. Shankar Gurukkal (Dhanush), the president of DUSU, is notorious for his rebellious, violent nature.

Mukti Behniwal (Kriti Sanon) is a student in the same college. One day, she’s pitching her thesis, which argues that any violent man can undergo a complete transformation and become a nonviolent, peace-loving human being if treated correctly.

At this point, Shankar enters the venue and creates a ruckus while attempting to chase a student. The professors (Chittaranjan Tripathy, Jaya Bhattacharya) use this incident to confirm that some men can never be reformed.

Mukti takes it upon herself to reform him. If she manages to do so, the professors agree to pass her thesis. Shankar, at first, shows no interest but relents later on.

In no time, Shankar falls deeply in love with her. He also changes his behaviour for her, and Mukti completes her PhD. This is when reality strikes Shankar about Mukti’s feelings for him.

He decides to turn the world upside down. 7 years later, they meet again. What happens next forms the rest of the film.

Himanshu Sharma and Neeraj Yadav’s story is in sync with the flavour of the season – a heartbroken man who leaves no stone unturned.

Himanshu Sharma and Neeraj Yadav’s screenplay is engaging at several places, but also gets confusing after a point. Himanshu Sharma and Neeraj Yadav’s dialogues are a highlight and add to the drama and humour.

Aanand L Rai’s direction is engaging. He starts the film at a decisive point and then the narrative goes into a flashback mode.

It intrigues viewers as they want to know what went wrong between the characters. Some scenes seem to be executed to appeal to Dhanush’s South fans; it works and doesn’t seem out of place.

Where Aanand scores highly is in creating drama. A few scenes stand out for execution and originality like Mukti asking Shankar to become his subject, Mukti asking a scared man to slap Shankar and the madness that erupts in the bar. Mukti arriving at Shankar’s place and the intermission point are also quite gripping.

The second half also begins on a fine note. Here, Shankar’s father Raghav (Prakash Raj) gets to perform some of the most memorable scenes.

On the flipside, the second half is where the film slips.

Things happen conveniently, and it doesn’t appeal the way the goings-on did in the first half. The plot also becomes confusing, especially in the present-day episode.

There are far too many cinematic liberties, from an injured Shankar entering an IAS officer’s residence coolly (this same place has been attacked days before and should have had the maximum protection) to a depressed, alcoholic, pregnant woman being sent to a high-altitude place.

The film also gets too stretched during the finale, though intended to be impactful, it doesn’t pack a punch.

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