‘Tere Ishk Mein’ sparks PhD debate online as research scholars call out the 2,200-page thesis scene

'Tere Ishk Mein', starring Kriti Sanon and Dhanush, began streaming on OTT on January 23 and soon found itself at the centre of an unexpected academic storm. PhD students across India reacted strongly to a scene involving a 2,200-page thesis, turning the film into a trending topic on social media.

The thesis scene that triggered disbelief

The controversy centres on Kriti Sanon’s character, Mukti Beniwal, a psychology research scholar at Delhi University. In one scene, she claims to have submitted a 2,200-page PhD thesis, a number that many scholars found absurd. Research students were quick to point out that most universities expect far shorter submissions. One scholar wrote, “Almost everything said and done in this film in the name of a PhD is a joke… I wrote every day, every single day for four years, to produce my 385-page PhD thesis.

2,200 pages is just so unbelievably ridiculous.”