Exploring Bollywood’s Iconic Obsessive Lovers Before Tere Ishk Mein (2025)

New Delhi:

From Bollywood’s grand romances to its darker, obsessive shadows, Bollywood has long explored characters whose love spirals into fixation while calling it love. Over the years, several actors have essayed roles that blur the line between passion and emotional unravelling, creating portrayals that stay unsettling and yet unforgettable.

As Dhanush and Kriti Sanon’s Tere Ishk Mein is releasing in theatres today, let’s have a look at some actors who played unhinged lovers onscreen.

Shah Rukh Khan: The OG

Before he became the ‘King of Romance’ of Hindi cinema, Shah Rukh Khan built his stardom on characters driven by obsession rather than love. His menacing Rahul, whispering ‘K…K…Kiran’ in Darr (1993), was a cultural marker for cinematic obsession. Films such as Baazigar (1993) and Anjaam (1994) further presented him as the quintessential anti-hero who brought charm and terror into one frame.

Shahid Kapoor: The self-destructive lover in Kabir Singh

Shahid Kapoor’s version of Kabir Singh remains one of the most polarizing portrayals of obsessive lovers on screen. The actor played the role of a wayward surgeon with raging intensity, who’s life goes upside down due to his self-destruction abilities and impulsive decisions. The love that Kabir felt for Preeti becomes an all-consuming force and Shahid’s raw intensity made the performance at once compelling and controversial.

Ajay Devgn: Brooding and dangerous

Ajay Devgn brought a quiet menace to his role in Deewangee, released in 2002. A musician whose unstable mind wavers between innocence and threat, the Singham actor put in one of his most chilling performances. His tendency to underplay obsession, leaning on silence and sharp shifts in demeanour, lent the character a fear of unpredictability.

Ranveer Singh: Passion fueled by instability

In Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela, passion drives Ranveer’s character to extremes. But it was Padmaavat that truly etched him as the face of unrestrained desire, a lover driven by hunger for control rather than affection.

Dhanush: Raw, messy, heartbreaking obsession

In Raanjhanaa, Dhanush brought an extremely human and flawed performance of obsessive young love. His character, Kundan, veers between sincerity, desperation, and emotional chaos.

Now he will once again be seen in Aanand L Rai’s directorial, Tere Ishk Mein.

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