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It\u2019s not every day that Hindi film audiences get to see a creature spread fear and panic. Of late, Maddock\u2019s horror comedies have shown the appeal of creating a worthy nemesis with the Stree films and Munjya. Bejoy Nambiar\u2019s Tu Yaa Main reminds us why we love to fear the croc in a survival thriller. After all, when it comes to sleek killing machines, it doesn\u2019t get better than the cold-blooded amphibious reptile.<\/p>\n
Tu Yaa Main starts out as a love story between two Gen Z creators. The girl\u2019s (Shanaya Kapoor) famous, rich and privileged; the boy\u2019s (Adarsh Gourav) from Nalasopara and lives in a crammed house with his family. She\u2019s sophisticated; he\u2019s the boy from the wrong side of the tracks. Opposites attract, suggests Nambiar, as he sets out to establish why despite their differences they are MFEO (made for each other).<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not entirely convincing or even engaging, but Nambiar tries to keep the romantic track going with swift cuts and rap songs, which struggle to stir up the pace. At best, it feels like a detour from the first sequence itself, where one witnesses a slashed, bloodied hand of a woman floating in water. Nambiar wants the audience to know that the villain is the real deal.<\/p>\n
On his part, writer Abhishek Bandekar tries to add some emotional cadence to the story by bringing in elements of guilt and trauma as well as some laughs by touching on the odd coupling. But the real action begins when the young couple find themselves trapped in a ginormous pool with an enormous croc. The film picks up steam in the second half\u2014in Jaws or The Shallows fashion, it becomes a survival action drama.<\/p>\n
Technology certainly has come a long way since we last saw a crocodile as a central character in a Hindi film. Nambiar admits it was \u201cnew territory\u201d for him too as he hasn\u2019t done films heavy on visual effects. His insistence on shooting with a real crocodile as much as he could pays off.<\/p>\n
Given that shooting with crocodiles is forbidden in India, Nambiar found his \u2018bad man\u2019 at a crocodile farm in Bangkok. Dhanno, as the crew referred to the reptile, was nothing short of a casting coup what with her chilling screen presence. In her absence, the animatronic christened Gudiya filled in, with visual effects doing the remaining bits. \u201cWe didn\u2019t know how the croc would behave and what shots we would get. But we got more than what we asked for,\u201d says Nambiar, praising Dhanno.<\/p>\n
Tu Yaa Main works best when it follows the couple trying to adopt extreme measures and come up with ideas to find an escape route from what is a certain deadly situation. There\u2019s blood, there\u2019s loss, there\u2019s screams and squabbles as a months-old relationship faces its toughest test.<\/p>\n
Gourav is all of us as he channels the frustration and irritability of being stuck in a mess not of one\u2019s making. The sneaky croc is the one who commands one\u2019s attention with his kills, each gruesome than the other.<\/p>\n
Tu Yaa Main is low on surprises but highlights the insatiable appeal of a creature feature, a rarity in Indian cinema these days. After all, there\u2019s nothing better than watching someone being stuck in a wild and scary scenario, one that\u2019s straight out of your worst nightmares.<\/p>\n