Tu Yaa Main Movie Review | Anupama Chopra | THR India

In this review for The Hollywood Reporter India, Anupama Chopra takes on Tu Yaa Main, the creature feature directed by Bejoy Nambiar, an official remake of the 2018 Thai film The Pool. Anupama examines how the film spends too much of its first hour building emotional arcs and backstories for its two leads — Adarsh Gourav as Maruti, a rapper and content creator from Nala Sopara, and Shanaya Kapoor as Avni, a rich influencer known as Miss Vanity — when all we really want is the croc. She notes that Maruti feels like a tired copy of Murad from Gully Boy while Avni is the lonely rich girl archetype, and while Adarsh fleshes out his character with cheerful energy and memorable lines, Shanaya is saddled with the more vanilla role, though this is still a step up from her debut Aankhon Ki Gustaakhiyan.

Anupama argues that the film comes alive once the crocodile enters the picture, with Bejoy squeezing genuine suspense out of the scenario of two people stuck in a pool with a killer. The croc — a mix of real footage, animatronic and CGI — is convincing enough, and the film bakes in enough self-aware humour, including nods to Amitabh Bachchan's Gangaa Jamunaa Saraswati and the Rekha classic Khoon Bhari Maang. While Tu Yaa Main tries to explore ideas of class, ambition and life as social media performance, Anupama finds it too lightweight to deliver real insight or genuine terror. Her bottom line: keep expectations and IQ low, and there are enough kicks in the croc.