Adarsh, Shanaya & Bejoy: Chemistry, Competition & Crocodiles | InFocus | THR India

Director Bejoy Nambiar and actors Adarsh Gourav and Shanaya Kapoor sit down with Anupama Chopra to discuss their survival thriller Tu Yaa Main, an official adaptation of the 2018 Thai film The Pool. The trio reveal how they brought a terrifying crocodile to life using a combination of real crocs filmed in Thailand, custom-built animatronics, and cutting-edge VFX — including a vision mixer that let actors see the animated creature on set in real time. Bejoy opens up about his 15-year filmmaking journey, the criticism of style over substance, and the unexpected origin story of his collaboration with producer Aanand L. Rai, while Adarsh details the months of immersive prep that took him from Nalasopara to Dharavi to find the soul of his rapper character Maruti.

Shanaya shares how she overcame real fears of heights, enclosed spaces, and underwater sequences to deliver authentic on-screen terror, breaking down on the final day of a gruelling shoot inside a submerged pipe 16 feet underwater. Adarsh talks about his nine-month search for the right script after his BAFTA-nominated turn in The White Tiger, and how Tu Yaa Main reignited his passion for acting. The conversation also touches on Shanaya's reflections on her father Sanjay Kapoor's resilient Bollywood journey, the competitive pickleball matches between co-stars, and how the film challenges industry stereotypes by casting against type in a commercial Hindi film.