2025 Screen Crushes: Ahaan Pandey, Rukmini Vasanth, Jaideep Ahlawat — and Others Who Made Us Lose the Plot (Briefly)

In this business, desire is a suspicious currency. We are professionally (and defensively) trained to keep it at arm’s length. To interrogate the screenplay, to question narrative worth, to ask whether the feeling is “earned.” What if the writing collapses? What if the character exists only as a mood board? What if the story itself is not something you’d publicly endorse?

And yet.

Crushes are gloriously unbothered by logic. Desire sneaks in through the fissures. It ambushes even the most disciplined critic, settling somewhere near the collarbone, lighting up the parts of us that don’t usually get column inches.

We spend so much time celebrating excellence that we forget to make space for softness — irrational, persistent, deeply unserious softness. So at The Hollywood Reporter India, we decided to suspend good behaviour. Briefly. Tenderness, after all, deserves a seat at the table.

Don’t judge. This is a safe space.

Here are our screen crushes of 2025 (be still, my beating heart):

Shahid Kapoor, Deva

Dev arrived early in the year and refused to leave — a volatile cop with partial memory loss, a permanently clenched jaw, and tight, tight khaki pants doing far more narrative work than strictly required. Kapoor wears the uniform like a second skin, the fit precise enough to feel almost aggressive in its own right (stop. Focus). It is, regrettably, impossible not to notice how perfectly those trousers hold their shape, and his. Okay. I’ll stop. Kapoor plays him as a walking contradiction. He leans fully into the greys with such ease that you’re convinced you’ve met this man before, probably to your own detriment. Dev is very much a red flag, but one rendered with such tactile specificity that resistance feels pointless. After Kabir Singh, there was a solemn vow to retire any affection for men with violent streaks. That vow did not survive Deva. It may be the posture. It may be the haunted eyes. It may, frankly, still be the pants. Those perfect — okay, I said I’d stop. — Anushka Halve

Varang, Avatar: Fire and Ash

Varang in 'Avatar: Fire and Ash'

Motion capture has rarely carried this much charge. Oona Chaplin infuses Varang — the ferocious leader of the Ash People — with a magnetism so potent it cuts straight through pixels. Her sensuality is a threat, her power is dangerously alluring. She is ruthless, commanding, and unapologetically violent — okay, maybe I have a problem. But Varang is fluent in dark arts and she is spellbinding. The film is fully aware of the erotic undercurrent it’s playing with, letting Varang exist as a figure of dominance. You have to submit to her. Eyes locked. Brain off. Respectfully undone. — Anushka Halve

Ahaan Pandey, Saiyaara

A generational crush, ala Hrithik Roshan, aka Rajesh Khanna, Ahaan Pandey and his green-flag boyfriend—who lets go of his career to nurse his girlfriend whom he doesn’t mind marrying, really, it is just a formality—in Saiyaara set a blueprint for desire at a time when masculinity was coming undone, with rage and restlessness becoming the image in which most men want to be made. Pandey's yearning performance in that deep and confident voice, and his physicality —a small mouth and searching eyes, a body that isn’t shredded but one that tries—came together to etch a paw-licking character that made yearning and brooding sexy, but also, tender. No woman was harmed in the making of this man. — Prathyush Parasuraman

Jaideep Ahlawat, Jewel Thief/The Family Man

He definitely isn't your standard definition of hot. On-screen, he looks anywhere between 35 and 65, which is honestly part of the appeal — mysterious and tax-bracket-fluid. The man can act, obviously. But damn, Jaideep Ahlawat can dance too? The better-forgotten Jewel Thief on Netflix this year thrust him into the limelight as a gangster with smooth moves. The movie tanked harder than our annual New Year's resolutions, but Ahlawat definitely did some "Jaadu"— on us and our unsuspecting hearts. He closed out the year in Family Man S3, playing another gangster, this time with a ponytail. Which somehow made him hotter? We don't make the rules. There's just something about a man who can threaten someone's life and nail a complicated dance sequence in the same year. The confidence, the rhythm, the vague danger — we love it all. — Urvee Modwel

Robert Irwin, Dancing With the Stars

We fell in love with the father, and now we love the son. Nope, it isn't Saif Ali Khan and Ibrahim. It's Steve Irwin's son, Robert. He's a wildlife photographer, an actor, he loves animals, and literally has his own zoo. You know, normal guy stuff. He broke the internet back in April when he posed with spiders, snakes and lizards for underwear brand Bondi, proving that the real danger is how good he looked doing it. Oh, and he won the latest season of Dancing With the Stars. So what if he's a little young? After all, what's not to love about a man from Down Under who loves being shirtless, wrestles crocodiles and has better hair than us? Crikey, indeed. — Urvee Modwel

Bhagyashri Borse, Kaantha

Bhagyashri Borse in 'Kaantha'

There’s something timeless about Bhagyashri’s beauty. When you see her, you feel like her beauty can only be fully contained on CinemaScope. The vertical frames of Instagram, struggle to capture the essence of her smile and a set of eyes, backlighting seems to have been invented for. In monochrome, her allure feels like the result of subtlety rather than spectacle. You may search for newer words to describe this quality, but you keep falling back on one we seldom use to describe actors today: graceful. And as Kumari in Kaantha, you understand why the country’s biggest superstar would lose it all for her and why her mentor puts everything at stake, trusting almost entirely her beauty. — Vishal Menon

Tovino Thomas, Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra

It takes a certain type of whimsy and security to make a character like Chaathan work, and Tovino, in just a tight runtime, displays luscious possession of both. Chaathan isn’t just a harmless trickster; he's someone with the ability to take down half the world, buried within him. A blend of Quicksilver and Supernatural’s Loki, his modus operandi might be bubble guns, smokescreens and a hall of mirrors, but he cautions us not to be fooled by the tomfoolery. His gold-toothed smile hides a wickedness we don’t know anything about (and will probably be familiar with in his standalone movie in the universe). The man has a god complex and courts the wrong woman. But he chivalrously backs off. Well, after a tight slap. — Sruthi Raman

Ishaan Khatter, The Royals/Homebound

Ishaan Khatter in 'The Royals'

Ishaan Khatter has always had 'rizz', but 2025 is the year it finally developed teeth. Ever since he first showed up in Beyond the Clouds, he’s been filed under “cute, talented, will probably break out any minute.” This year, he did. Could anyone forget a shirtless Ishaan Khatter riding a horse in his opening shot in The Royals? He played the role of the brattish, young Price Aviraaj 'Fizzy' Singh with every bit the conviction he did Mohammed Shoib Ali in Homebound — a heart-wrenching portrayal that had everyone reaching for tissues. The charm is effortless, the chemistry criminal, and the screen presence? Let’s just say that if 2025 needed a new heartthrob to destabilise the crowd, Khatter understood the assignment and turned it in early.— Ananya Shankar

Nagarjuna, Coolie

Coolie might have been a damn squib overall, but Nagarjuna sashayed into everyone's hearts (again) with the same arrogance and ease he's been brandishing for five decades. Simon's characterisation was undeniably short-charged, but the 66-year-old's moves in the I Am The Danger theme (Ani with another banger) had a new generation of fans swooning over him - and then some. If only some of that swag had rubbed off on Dahaa too. — Gautam Sunder

Rukmini Vasanth, Ace/Madharaasi/Kantara: Chapter 1

After breaking out with the SSE Kannada film duology a couple of years ago, Rukmini endeared to Tamil audiences this year not just with her roles in Ace and Madharaasi, but also her witty, funny and charming press tour in which she was an absolute delight. Then came her regal turn as Kanakavathi in Kantara: Chapter 1, and there was no looking back for the RADA-trained star. If you thought she couldn't get more captivating, she's turning Mani Ratnam heroine next… — Gautam Sunder

Rachel Sennott, I Love LA

Painfully self-aware, self-deprecating and self-indulgent, Rachel Sennott's new comedy I Love LA (which she's created, written and starred in) is as much about her as it is a zillennial commentary. Much has been expected from Sennott after the likes of Shiva Baby and Bottoms, and the comedian-turned-actor charts a hilarious humdinger of a performance as Maia; it's ironic, sexual and deadpan all at once. It remains to be seen if I Love LA becomes the Girls of the 2020s, but Sennott is already a more than worthy successor to Lena Dunham's faltering throne. She really is the moment. — Gautam Sunder

Pooja Hegde, Retro/Coolie

Pooja Hegde in 'Monica'

Pooja Hegde basically made Retro promotions an event. Those saree looks? Unreal. Every appearance felt like a masterclass in looking ethereal without even trying. She was flawless, graceful and glowing, the kind of beauty that makes you go, “Okay finee, I’ll watch the film.” And that's exactly what I did. Bought a ticket, powered by her sheer presence. But that wasn't it. When she was done being divine, she turned up in Coolie’s 'Monica' song and set the screen on fire, with that smoking hot red dress! The dance was sharp, and the confidence was chef’s kiss. And of course, there was also Deva, where she looked absolutely pretty and effortlessly charming. Pooja’s eyes, her style, her ease in front of the camera, everything just clicks. She doesn’t overdo it, she doesn’t force it, she simply shows up, looks stunning, and leaves you crushing hard. How is this even fair? — Justin Rao

Malavika Mohanan, Hridayapoorvam 

Malavika Mohanan in Hridayapoorvam was pure screen magic. From her very first frame, she looked luminous, soft, radiant and instantly arresting in a way that felt natural and not manufactured. Like the camera just happens to love her (who wouldn’t?). What really elevated the crush factor was also how she held her ground in the film opposite a screen legend (Mohanlal). No shrinking, no overplaying, just calm assurance and sparkling ease. She looked completely at home, which somehow made her even more attractive. Her styling in the film was tasteful and flattering, enhancing that fresh, girl-next-door-meets-movie-star vibe. There’s something irresistibly attractive about that kind of ease, which translates even in her off-screen promotional appearances. Malavika, this year, was in major heart-eyes territory! — Justin Rao

Cate Blanchett, Black Bag /Father, Mother, Sister, Brother

The thing about Cate Blanchett is that she can be the subject of anyone’s desire, regardless of what they identify as, or whether they even love her or not (but have you ever encountered a Cate Blanchett hater? Yeah, me neither). I first met her on screen as the wispy, ethereal elven queen Galadriel in The Lord of the Rings movies, gliding through the world like nothing could ever touch that impossible beauty she was born into. That vision holds your senses hostage and jackhammers your speech. Or at least she did mine. 

Nearly three decades on, I find myself feeling the exact same way about this femme fatale like no other. You watch her seduce Michael Fassbender in Black Bag and be timorous as the daughter of an overbearing matriarch in Father, Mother, Brother, Sister — and look like a goddess who you would allow to step on you in a heartbeat all along, even when she’s brought out her big sexy guns. The thing is, she doesn’t have to — the lust for her feels so forbidden that you will bite that apple. — Arshia Dhar

Rohit Saraf, Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari

For years, Rohit Saraf lived comfortably in the ‘sweet, shy, soft-spoken’ corner of our collective memory, ever since Dear Zindagi. Cute, comforting, pure boy-next-door energy. Then Sunny Sanskari arrived and flipped everything. That opening shot of Vikram stepping off a helicopter, pure K3G SRK energy, is the exact moment you know it’s over. Now let’s talk about the kurtas — the many, many Indian kurtas, all leading up to the silver sherwani that closes the film and truly seals the deal. Crisp, romantic, perfectly tailored, each look lands harder than the last. And then there’s the Panwadi dance number, which didn’t just go viral, it did something irreversible for the girlies. The blushing starts early and honestly never lets up across the full two hours and fifteen minutes. It’s Rohit Saraf stepping into his leading man era, and us willingly falling in line. — Manasvi Taarana

Special Entry: Nick Wilde, Zootopia 2

'Zootopia 2'

From the moment Nick Wilde walked into Zootopia with that cynical smirk and the loose tie, our brain chemistry was permanently altered. He’s got undeniable real-life Ryan Reynolds energy, amplified by Jason Bateman’s criminally hot voice, which frankly feels like cheating. Cute, witty, smug, secretly soft and dangerously charming, he’s the bad boy who comes with a golden heart and just enough emotional damage to keep things…. interesting. The sarcasm is armour, the cynicism is a decoy, and beneath it all is a kindness that hits when you least expect it. That cocktail of intelligence, vulnerability and redeemable chaos is pure catnip. And yes, the dreamy green eyes absolutely help. No, you don’t have to be a furry. You just have elite taste, sweetheart! — Manasvi Taarana