Director Bejoy Nambiar strikes a good balance between scares and emotions. Shanaya Kapoor as the rich influencer is the surprise package here. She brings in both emotional vulnerability as well as solid inner strength. Her character Avani is the one who saves the day for herself, and also the male protagonist played by an excellent Adarsh Gourav

Starcast: Adarsh Gourav, Shanaya Kapoor etc

Genre: Thriller/drama

Direction: Bejoy Nambiar

Writer: Abhishek Bandekar

Story: Himanshu Sharma

Based on: The Pool (Thai Movie)

Cinematography: Remy Dalal

Music: Aditya N

Producers: Aanand L Rai, Himanshu Sharma etc

Production Company: Color Yellow Productions and Bhanusali Studios limited

Running time: 2 hours and 30 minutes

Bejoy Nambiar’s Tu Yaa Main is a mix of different themes. On one level the movie examines the world of content influencers and a certain need for validation. At the same time the film also looks at the topics of trust and responsibility in love. How the principal characters stick together as a team getting out of a life-threatening situation is the perfect example of this. The different social backgrounds in this case rich and poor is also a key part especially with Adarsh Gaurav’s character who wants to climb up the social ladder. Last but not the least the movie also briefly addresses animals being displaced from their natural environment and how this can lead to violent consequences. All this a heady cocktail but Bejoy Nambiar does a good job for most part.

In brief the storyline of Tu Yaa Main focuses on the paths of Adarsh Gourav’s Maruti Kadam and Shanaya Kapoor’s Avani Shah interconnecting. Avani finds Maruti Kadam’s ruffian like nature interesting in spite of the vastly different social backgrounds. The two soon fall in love much to the displeasure of Avani’s family. Things take a dramatic turn with Avani becoming pregnant and Maruti developing cold feet. Cracks start appearing as Avani is thinking of keeping the baby which Maruti doesn’t approve. While on the way to Goa the bike of Maruti faces problems. With the help of a kind inspector, they reach a hotel late in night. Without giving much away the film soon descends into a horror story with a killer crocodile and two young people put to extreme test. The only way to get out of the mess is working together as one unit. How the two eventually come out alive with the relationship becoming stronger than before forms the main premise of Tu Yaa Main.

A major strength of Tu Yaa Main is how Bejoy Nambiar and Abhishek Bandekar built the worlds of Avani and Maruti. The huge contrast in the terms of the social dynamics and also the aspirations of Maruti has come out in an excellent manner. The love story plays out in an interesting manner too with the gradual evolution. A key emotional sequence with Avani talking about her parents’ death connected to an accident in water is solidly written and enacted. This scene holds an important connection in the pre climax where one of Maruti’s legs is stuck with a crocodile following them. Avani’s desperation is juxtaposed with what happened to her parents. Thankfully here though the situation doesn’t end in a tragedy as Avani is able to free Maruti.

Tu Yaa Main also works because of the atmospherics especially the design of the reptile and the deep pool. The pool with its 20 feet length feels like a scary forest in itself and add to that you have two crocodiles one underground and one above. The cinematography of Remy Dalal especially shines in the second half. The way he captures the dread through the lens is fantastic. The background music by Prateek Rajgopal is chilling too in the scenes of face between the crocodile and the two leads. The production design also has an authentic feel whether its the two worlds of Mumbai or the pool sequences. The use of monsoon drenched Mumbai also plays an important role in amplifying the horrors of pool sequences.

The themes of responsibility and trust in a relationship have also been well explored in the conversations between Adarsh and Shanaya. Shanaya’s Avani in spite of her rich background isn’t presented as a caricature. She comes across as a flesh and blood human being with her vulnerabilities and a firmness on doing what she wants to do. Shanaya delivers a very good act especially in the dramatic moments of the second half. Adarsh Gourav as the ambitious rapper with dreams of better life is solid as well. He gets the attitude of a ruffian type spot on both in terms of body language and dialogue delivery. Yes, there is a Siddhanth Chaturvedi hangover from Gully Boy on a few occasions. But Adarsh does a fantastic job in capturing the angst and a desire to rise above his social status.

The theme of environment, in this case displacement of animals could have been explored a bit more though rather than just reducing it to a conversation between Adarsh and a helpful police officer. On the musical front the remixes work more than the original numbers. Having said that Jee liya featuring the blossoming romance works well.

Final word: Tu Yaa Main is an immersive watch especially for fans of high-stake thrillers