In a world where content creators dominate it all, Shanaya Kapoor and Adarsh Gourav’s Tu Yaa Main tries to blend influencer culture with survival horror. Directed by Bejoy Nambiar and produced by Anand L. Rai, the movie is inspired by a Thai film named The Pool. The movie’s trailer hinted that it goes way beyond a breezy romance. Does the movie deliver what it promised or just fizzles out? Read our Tu Yaa Main review to find out!

Tu Yaa Main movie review: The plot

The movie starts rather simply: Miss Vanity (Shanaya Kapoor) is a massively successful content creator who’s nailed the whole social media game but feels empty inside. Then there’s Aala Flowpara (Adarsh Gourav), a wannabe rapper from Nallasopara grinding away, trying to make it big. A chance encounter with Miss Vanity makes him realise that a collab with her could be his big shot. After much Bollywood-style convincing and flirting, Miss Vanity agrees to the collab. But as you’d expect, business turns into something more.

They fall for each other, everything’s going brilliantly, until it isn’t. Something happens that messes everything up, so they decide to head to Goa to sort their heads out. And that turns out to be their biggest mistake. The duo end up stuck in a 20-foot-deep swimming pool at a creepy abandoned hotel, and they have a crocodile down there to keep them company. Now it’s about whether they can actually survive this thing, and more importantly, whether they’ll stick together or endanger each other to save themselves.

What we loved about Tu Yaa Main

The movie is one of a kind in Bollywood. Sure, there are other survival movies, but almost none involving a lethal animal. So, yes, the intensity is proper edge-of-your-seat stuff. Once that crocodile shows up, the film doesn’t let up. That pool becomes this nightmarish trap, and you genuinely feel scared with the characters. Every tiny movement in the water feels like it could be the end. 

Gourav and Kapoor have really good chemistry and work well together. Despite playing characters from completely different worlds, there’s a genuine spark between them that makes them work as a couple. Gourav brings that same raw intensity he had in The White Tiger, and Kapoor actually surprises you with her performance. Watching them go from flirty and fun to blaming each other is actually an enjoyable arc. Both actors nail those shifts. The background music and the hotel’s backdrop add to the movie’s unsettling atmosphere.

What we didn’t love about Tu Yaa Main

Everything about the movie is good except how late we are introduced to the apex predator. The crocodile doesn’t show up until after the interval. The whole “extraordinarily wealthy girl with an empty soul meets underprivileged boy brimming with authenticity” storyline feels like it’s been lifted from a rejected romcom screenplay of 2010. We’ve watched this dynamic play out in dozens of films, and Tu Yaa Main doesn’t bring anything fresh to the table in that respect. Based on how the two characters meet, things could have been much more realistic and crisp. Much of this buildup feels entirely disconnected from the survival ordeal that follows.

Had the film trimmed 20 minutes from the buildup and launched us into the nightmare sooner, the overall experience would’ve been considerably tighter. Currently, you spend the first half waiting for the film to become what it promised to be.

Overall, Tu Yaa Main is an intense and gripping survival movie that keeps you on the edge. If you can sit through the slow start, it’s worth watching with your bae on Valentine’s Day!

Can you watch Tu Yaa Main with your family? The movie has a couple of kissing scenes. If that’s not a problem, this can make for a good family watch!

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