As part of PVR and INOX’s “month of love” re-releases, the 2003 cult film Tere Naam returns to theatres today. While Himesh Reshammiya’s chart-busters and Salman Khan’s iconic hairstyle might draw a crowd, we need to have a serious conversation: Why are we celebrating the “OG” of toxic obsession as a celebration of love? Tere Naam is perhaps the last film one should revisit while talking about love, or even trying to understand it, in 2026. For years now, Hindi cinema has struggled with the romanticisation of deeply problematic male protagonists. In recent years also, there has been a pattern of blurring the line between obsession and passion – from Kabir Singh to Kundan (Raanjhana), Shankar (Tere Ishk Mein), and Vikramaditya (Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat). But Tere Naam’s Radhe didn’t just blur those lines, he erased them altogether. Tere Naam’s Radhe is the OG of toxicity In Tere Naam, Radhe doesn’t merely pursue Nirjara (Bhumika Chawla), he stalks her and ultimately kidnaps her because she doesn’t reciprocate his feelings. He ties her up, threatens her. …