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We live in a time when turning down red flags has become the new cool. But, 25 years ago, millennials and boomers glorified people with red flags. Watching R Madhavan’s Maddy stalking, impersonating someone else, and then considering Dia Mirza’s character Reena Malhotra as an object to possess was definitely not in my bingo card for 2026. As a GenZ viewer, I revisited the 2001 Bollywood cult classic, Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein, and here’s what I thought.
Maddy was established as a toxic masculine figure in the opening scene itself, when he wanted to burst firecrackers to create chaos in the girl’s hostel. It soon turned it into a typical goon rivalry at the college campus, after he eventually put the blame on Rajeev Samra aka Sam (played by Saif Ali Khan) for the mess. Unlike Reena, I would’ve left swiped him instantly.
Romance starts with a BIG lie
Madhavan’s character in RHTDM based his love story on deception. He impersonated Rajeev for 5 days. He went on dates with her, brought her gifts, late night calls, and what not to win her heart. He simply formed a false identity and let her develop feelings for someone he was not. Not just that, he even stalked her and read Reena’s each and every move to decide his next action.
The most shocking part for me was Maddy’s father Deendayal Shastri (portrayed by Anupam Kher) is so easygoing, that he supported and even encouraged his son to carry out the deception. Today, if a son revealed that he was going to impersonate someone else to win a girl’s affection, his father would reprimand him. When the entire romance began with a huge lie, it was interesting to see how the story moved forward.
Self-centered Maddy
Its Maddy’s love story and we are just living in it, including the girl he loves – Reena. Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein was so busy making us believe Maddy’s feelings that the film forgot to focus on his actions. His chase is so self-centered that he stopped considering Reena as her own person, and she ended up getting sidelined in her own story. In one of the scenes, he even arranged for her phone connection to be cut, so she cannot contact the real Rajeev. Brother, what about her parents, friends, family?
ALSO READ | ‘It’s tragic that no one has cast me alongside Madhavan again’: Dia Mirza on 25 years of RHTDM
After lying at the beginning, Maddy kept piling it up with one selfish action after the other. He only prioritised his feelings as the driving force of the story over Reena’s right to know the truth. His love-at-first sight dancing in the rain dream moment created an obligation for Reena to reciprocate the same feelings. How was the repeated pursuit treated as romantic back then?
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100 marks for the music
A major factor that I can’t overlook was the soundtrack of RHTDM. The songs, particularly ‘Zara Zara’, ‘Kaise Main Kahoon Tujhse’, ‘Sach Keh Raha Hai’ will always remain a primary part of the film’s cultural legacy. The songs were a breath of fresh air amidst the foul smell of toxic masculinity, harassment, stalking, and male entitlement. The beautiful tracks were able to create an emotional appeal to the film. They also conveyed feelings in ways the screenplay didn’t necessarily manage to do.
Maddy Vs Sam
The whole Maddy Vs Sam angle was quite unsettling for me as a girl. I will never understand how Dia Mirza’s character was moulded in a way that she is content with her ‘pick me’ energy. After Sam re-entered the frame and Reena got to know about Maddy’s true identity, the fight of ‘who will win the trophy’ began. Possessiveness and unhealthy jealousy were portrayed as devotion, instead of questionable behaviour.
Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein
Reena’s choice and her right to decide what she wants took a backseat when both Sam and Maddy stopped considering her as a real person. They both were so intensely focused on winning the ego battle with physical fights and mental tactics, that the feeling for genuine love felt diminishing towards the end.
Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein clearly offered a pre-dating app romance perspective to me as a GenZ viewer. Its very easy to criticize or joke about the trendy phrases used by younger generation – catfishing, situationship, and more. But, you needs to ask your inner self, what were we glorifying back then? Maybe love was portrayed as more authentic back in the day, but deception existed too, just without the viral terms.
