Suchin Mehrotra

After a series of recent misfires, Bejoy Nambiar appears to have finally broken free of the “style over substance” tag with creature feature—Tu Yaa Main. Here, the filmmaker’s music video-like aesthetic sinks its teeth into enjoyable material. A remake of the 2018 Thai film The Pool, Tu Yaa Main is a film of two worlds. The first—a spunky, sizzling attraction story between two influencers from two different Mumbais. The second, a survival thriller where the couple is trapped in a swimming pool, forced to face off against a man-eating crocodile. Even if the two “halves” don’t always inform each other seamlessly, they collide well enough in a film that delivers on all its promises and makes for a refreshing, fun time at the movies.

A group of wide-eyed, middle-aged men stare at a collection of TV screens, periodically erupting with joyful screams and frantic hugs of celebration. The scene is intentionally framed like a group of male friends watching a cricket match that their team is winning. Except what’s unfolding on those screens is the live coverage of the 26/11 terror attacks, as innocent people are gunned down. The cheering men are a group of top Pakistani officials, ISI top brass, gangsters, arms dealers and businessmen. One of them is even on the phone to one of the terrorists, gleefully barking instructions about which hostages to kill next.

Maddock Films’ “Stree-verse” is arguably the most enjoyable franchise kicking around Hindi cinema these days. Though that’s not saying much. The promising horror-comedy universe—made up of Stree, Stree 2, Bhediya, and Munjya— enters its fifth instalment with Thamma, from Munjya director Aditya Sarpotdar back at the helm. This time, it’s vampires.