Sanam Teri Kasam: In major news, despite the success of re-release on OTT platforms and Indian theatres, the lead actor of Sanam Teri Kasam, Harshvardhan Rane has announced he will not work with Pakistani actress Mawra Hocane for the sequel of the romantic cult movie, amidst the tension between India and Pakistan.
The re-release of Sanam Teri Kasam was a major hit of 2025 so far, and its directors were already planning for Sanam Teri Kasam 2 with the original cast. However, Harshvardhan has declared to not be part of the sequel if Mawra is cast.
He wrote on his Instagram story on May 10, “While i am grateful for the experience, however as things stand, and after reading the direct comments made about my country, I have made a decision to respectfully decline to be part of Sanam Teri Kasam part 2 if there is any possibility of the previous cast being repeated.”
Adding he said, “I respect all artists and humans of this country, that country, Kenya and even Mars, but this kind of derogatory remarks about my country by anyone is unpardonable.”
“Am okay with losing out on followers on Instagram, but won’t allow anyone to walk over the pride and upbringing,” he said.
Finally, he added, “Standing by your country is good, but disrespectful, hateful remarks about other country is not.”
Both Harshvardhan and Rane debuted the Indian Bollywood industry with the 2016 tragic love story Sanam Teri Kasam. Although the movie was a flop in the initial year, its re-release in February 2025, was a trendsetter, touched a new milestone, and even performed better than fresh movies.
After the Pahalgam attack, India carried an Operation Sindoor on Pakistan’s terrorist infrastructure, causing a significant impact. However, soon after, both India and Pakistan exchanged missiles, fighter jets and drones in various regions of LOC.
Amidst the geopolitical tension, the All Indian Cine Workers Association (AICWA) declared a strict and complete ban on Indian artists collaborating with any Pakistani artists. Not just in India, even sharing global platforms with Pakistani artists is banned.
Earlier last week, AICWA criticised anti-India comments of Pakistani actors like Mahira Khan and Fawad Khan. Both have worked with renowned and popular Bollywood stars. Mahira did Raees movie with Bollywood’s king Shah Rukh Khan and Nawazuddin Siddique. Fawad was among the leading roles in Kapoor and Sons, paired with Bollywood stars like Alia Bhatt, Sidharth Malhotra and Rishi Kapoor.
AICWA reportedly alleged that Mahira called the Indian army’s response to the Pahalgam attack as “seriously cowardly”, while the authority blamed Fawad for having a divisive narrative rather than condemning terrorism.
Unlike Mahira and Fawad, Mawra gained fame in 2025 due to the re-release of Sanam Teri Kasam. She even got the opportunity to star in a music video by Akhil Sachdeva. She made comments like “Finally the world can see that Pakistan has & will always stand for Peace. However, if we are pushed into a war, our bravery & determination is unmatched.” She added, “Nothing and no one that attempts to challenge Pakistan’s sovereignty will be spared, make no mistake.”
Sanam Teri Kasam:
The 2025 re-release topped the charts of highest-grossing films in the re-released section, to the tune of Rs 41 crore worldwide gross, as per Wikipedia.
However, Sacnilk data revealed that Sanam Teri Kasam’s re-release had around Rs 50 crore of box office collection worldwide on a gross basis.
Sanam Teri Kasam’s re-release is a game changer and opened the floodgates of a host of upcoming re-releases like Andaz Apna Apna, Darr, Hunterrr, and Namaste London. Whether these movies outrun Sanam Teri Kasam will be keenly watched.
Sanam Teri Kasam 2:
After the success of the re-release, directors Radhika Rao and Vinay Sapru have confirmed the sequel Sanam Teri Kasam 2 that could launch in 2026. Harshvardhan Rane has been the top choice for a leading actor role. The leading actress role had many suggestions and speculations.
Earlier, there were reports that said, instead of the first part’s female lead Mawra Hocane, Shraddha Kapoor could be the lead actress in Sanam Teri Kasam 2. Many other leading actress names did pop-up. Then there were reports that the original cast, Rane-Hocane, could be paired for Sanam Teri Kasam 2 again. However, this is still speculatory.