Aanand L Rai receives lawsuit by Eros for claiming Tere Ishk Mein as a 'spiritual' sequel to Raanjhanaa

The complaint states that Tere Ishk Mein was deliberately presented as a “spiritual sequel” to Raanjhanaa without proper authorization.

• Eros sues Aanand L Rai, T-Series, and Netflix over alleged Raanjhanaa IP misuse
• Eros seeks Rs 84 crore in damages, claiming unauthorized use for Tere Ishk Mein
• Lawsuit alleges trademark and copyright infringement in Tere Ishk Mein promotion

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Eros International Media Ltd has moved the Bombay High Court against filmmaker Aanand L Rai and his banner Colour Yellow Media Entertainment LLP, alleging that they unlawfully capitalised on the goodwill of its 2013 blockbuster Raanjhanaa while promoting and releasing the 2025 film Tere Ishk Mein.

Eros is seeking damages of Rs 84 crore, claiming losses from Rai’s actions. According to the Times of India, the company has filed a commercial intellectual property lawsuit and an interim application. They accuse the defendants of trademark infringement, copyright infringement, and passing off.

The complaint states that Tere Ishk Mein was deliberately presented as a “spiritual sequel” to Raanjhanaa without proper authorization.

The lawsuit names multiple parties. In addition to Aanand L Rai and Colour Yellow Media Entertainment LLP, the defendants also include Super Cassettes Industries (T-Series), writer Himanshu Sharma, and Netflix Entertainment Services India LLP. This has turned the dispute into a multi-party legal battle focused on the intellectual property rights of Raanjhanaa and the alleged misuse in Tere Ishk Mein.

According to the complaint, Eros asserts that it is the producer and “exclusive owner of all intellectual property rights” related to Raanjhanaa. These include copyright, trademarks, character rights, and sequel and remake rights. The suit states: “The Plaintiff is the producer and exclusive owner of all intellectual property rights in the highly successful Hindi language film ‘Raanjhanaa’ including without limitation… copyright, registered trademark rights in ‘Raanjhanaa’, character rights including in ‘Kundan Shankar’ and ‘Murari’, and remake, prequel and sequel rights.”

Eros further claims that the defendants — including Colour Yellow Media Entertainment LLP, Colour Yellow Productions, Aanand L Rai and others — exploited these rights while marketing Tere Ishk Mein, which was released theatrically on November 28, 2025. As of now, neither party has issued an official statement on the matter.

A key trigger for the legal action, according to Eros, was the teaser of Tere Ishk Mein that surfaced online in July 2025. The company alleges that the teaser prominently used phrases such as “From the world of Raanjhanaa” and hashtags like “#WorldOfRaanjhanaa”. The interim application notes: “The Defendants have made unauthorized use of the Applicant’s Rights / Applicant’s Film/brand/mark ‘Raanjhanaa’ for the promotion… of the Impugned Film titled ‘Tere Ishk Mein’.”

Also read: Tere Ishk Mein Movie Review: Dhanush and Kriti Sanon elevate a film burdened by its own intensity

The application further claims that the teaser featured footage, background score and music from Raanjhanaa, even though Eros no longer holds the music rights to the 2013 film.

Directed by Aanand L Rai, Tere Ishk Mein released in theatres on November 28 and stars Dhanush, Kriti Sanon, Priyanshu Painyuli, Prakash Raj and Tota Roy Chowdhury in pivotal roles.