{
  "type": "article",
  "title": "The Gangajal Scene in 'Tere Ishq Mein' That Shook Neeraj Ghaywan: Why He Called the Film Cheap and Irresponsible",
  "summary": "Director Neeraj Ghaywan has criticised 'Tere Ishq Mein' for a scene where Gangajal is filmed to resemble an acid attack, calling it pointless and cheap. He warned that packaging toxicity as something cool is irresponsible filmmaking, particularly given its impact on trauma survivors.",
  "content": "'Tere Ishq Mein', directed by Anand L Rai and starring Dhanush and Kriti Sanon, arrived in theatres last year carrying enormous expectations. Audiences hoped this reunion of Rai and Dhanush would recreate the cinematic magic of 'Raanjhanaa'. But the film fell well short of those expectations, and its theatrical run drew a muted response from audiences.\n\nGhaywan Speaks Out Against the Film\nDirector Neeraj Ghaywan, whose film 'Homebound' is India's official Oscar entry, has recently spoken out sharply against 'Tere Ishq Mein'. In a conversation with Yuva, Ghaywan pointed to a troubling pattern in Hindi cinema today where toxicity is being deliberately packaged as edgy and cool. Filmmakers chasing this trend, he said, keep inserting gratuitous, purposeless scenes that add nothing to the story.\n\nThe Scene That Disturbed Him\nTo make his argument concrete, Ghaywan described a specific scene from the film. After being betrayed in love, Dhanush's character throws Gangajal at Kriti Sanon's character. The problem lies entirely in the execution: the scene is filmed in a way that makes it look, at first glance, exactly like an acid attack being carried out on screen.\n\nGhaywan admitted that the scene left him personally shaken, and that he too briefly believed he was watching an acid attack unfold. This led him to ask a pointed question: if a seasoned filmmaker was left this unsettled, how shattered must acid attack survivors have felt watching those same images in a cinema hall? He did not mince words, calling the scene outright pointless and cheap.\n\nThe Bigger Problem: Violence in Cinema\nGhaywan's concern extended well beyond that single scene. He also addressed the broader trend of gratuitous violence in Indian films. When a character is shown being slapped repeatedly on screen, he argued, it inflicts real psychological harm on women who have already survived abuse in real life. He was careful to broaden the point as well: this is not exclusively a women's issue. Anyone who has ever been victimised or subjected to cruelty at any point in their life, he said, can be profoundly and lastingly affected by watching such scenes play out on screen.\n\nWhat this means for you\n• For audiences: This debate is particularly significant for viewers who have experienced real trauma, highlighting how carelessly framed violence in mainstream films can be deeply triggering.\n• For the film industry: Criticism from an acclaimed filmmaker like Ghaywan adds public pressure on directors and producers to depict violence and toxic relationship dynamics on screen with far greater care and responsibility.\n\nQuestions & Answers\n\n1. Which scene in 'Tere Ishq Mein' did Neeraj Ghaywan criticise?\nHe criticised the scene where Dhanush's character throws Gangajal at Kriti Sanon's character, which is filmed in a way that looks exactly like an acid attack at first viewing.\n\n2. How did Neeraj Ghaywan personally react to the scene?\nHe said he was deeply disturbed by the scene and initially believed he was watching an acid attack actually happen on screen.\n\n3. Who is Neeraj Ghaywan and which film is he known for?\nNeeraj Ghaywan is the director of 'Homebound', which is India's official Oscar entry.\n\n4. Who directed 'Tere Ishq Mein' and who starred in it?\nThe film was directed by Anand L Rai and starred Dhanush and Kriti Sanon in the lead roles.\n\n5. How did 'Tere Ishq Mein' perform in theatres?\nThe film failed to meet audience expectations and drew a poor response at the box office.\n\n6. What did Neeraj Ghaywan say about violence in films more broadly?\nHe said that showing a character being slapped repeatedly on screen deeply affects women who have survived real-life trauma, as well as anyone else who has ever been victimised or subjected to cruelty.\n\n7. Why did Neeraj Ghaywan bring up acid attack survivors in his critique?\nBecause the scene in 'Tere Ishq Mein' was filmed to look like an acid attack, and he questioned how traumatising it must have been for acid attack survivors to watch those images on a cinema screen.",
  "url": "https://trendkia.com/en/bollywood/tere-ishq-mein-ke-usa-esida-vale-sina-ne-neeraj-ghaywan-ko-kiya-pareshana-bole-philmamekarsa-toksisiti-ko-bana-rahe-hain-kula-3438",
  "category": "Bollywood",
  "publishedAt": "2026-06-28",
  "tags": [
    "Neeraj Ghaywan",
    "Tere Ishq Mein",
    "Dhanush",
    "Kriti Sanon",
    "Anand L Rai",
    "Bollywood controversy",
    "acid attack",
    "film criticism"
  ],
  "language": "en",
  "site": "TrendKia"
}