Exclusive! Is Tu Yaa Main a copy of Thai film The Pool? – Beyond Bollywood

Thai film producer Amornthep Sukmanont has confirmed to Beyond Bollywood that the upcoming Bollywood film starring Shanaya Kapoor is a remake of his 2018 survival thriller. Original writer-director Ping Lumpraploeng also confirms that the contract clearly stated he would not receive credit, and he was fine with it.

By Mayur Lookhar

Not that there is any dearth of talent pool in India, but Indian filmmakers and producers have a penchant for scouting talent pools across global industries. Producer Aanand L Rai and his resident writer, co- producer Himanshu Sharma, appear to have drawn inspiration from a Southeast Asian country for their next project.

A few days ago, Rai and Sharma’s Colour Yellow Productions unveiled the teaser of their next film, Tu Yaa Main. Written by Himanshu Sharma and directed by Bejoy Nambiar, the film stars Shanaya Kapoor and Adarsh Gourav. Tu Yaa Main is set to release in theatres on 13 February.

Survival thrillers, especially creature films, enjoy strong popularity due to their high recall value. The idea of a young couple stranded in a deep swimming pool infested with a crocodile, which is later drained of water, is something Hindi cinema has not explored before. Netizens initially praised the novelty of the concept, but it did not take long for some to point out that Tu Yaa Main is inspired by the Thai film The Pool (2018). As is often the case, many were quick to label it a copy.

Adding to the speculation was the absence of any mention of the Thai film or its original writer-director – Ping Lumpraploeng, in the teaser credits of Tu Yaa Main. Rather surprisingly, Himanshu Sharma is credited for story, while one Abhishek Arun Bandekar is credited for the screenplay and dialogues. On the surface, the story appears familiar, centering on a couple stranded in a swimming pool along with a crocodile.

As is often the case, Indian filmmakers tend to tweak a few elements. The original film, starring Theeradej Wongpuapan as Day and Ratnamon Ratchiratham as Koi, is narrated from the hero’s point of view. Day is stranded in the draining pool first, and a few hours later, a crocodile dives in and then his girlfriend accidentally slips in as well. In Tu Yaa Main, it appears that the girl, played by Shanaya Kapoor, is the one initially trapped in the pool, and her boyfriend later ends up there with her as well. Maybe a female battling a female crocodile has a stronger appeal.

As we saw in Saiyaara, there was never any disclosure that the film was inspired by the Korean movie A Moment to Remember. With Himanshu Sharma taking full credit for the story of Tu Yaa Main, it perhaps became futile to expect Indian filmmakers or producers to publicly acknowledge the source material of their films.

We reached out to people associated with the Thai film and were eventually connected to Amornthep Sukmanont, the producer of The Pool. We shared the teaser of Tu Yaa Main with Sukmanont and asked him directly whether the Indian film was inspired by The Pool.

“Oh, thanks. Yes, it is remade from my film,” Sukmanont revealed in an exclusive chat.

Since the Tu Yaa Main teaser carries no credit to the Thai film, we further asked Sukmanont whether the Indian project is an official Hindi remake of The Pool and if the Indian producers had obtained the rights?

“Yes, they connect to Mono Film few years ago,” replied Sukmanont.

Mono Film is a reputed Thai Production Company, which owns the rights for The Pool.

With Sukmanont’s clarification, it is clear that Tu Yaa Main is not a copy but an official Hindi adaptation of The Pool.

In a later development, original writer-director Ping Lumpraploeng also confirmed the same. One, however, was curious as to why the original writer was not credited.

“In the contract, we didn’t mention my credit as the original writer, so I’m fine with that. Just happy to look forward to how Bollywood makes it on film. I’m sure it’s going to be very exciting, because I’m such a big fan of Bollywood action films,” Lumpraploeng told Beyond Bollywood.

Over the years, Bollywood has leaned heavily on remakes, though not always with success. The more worrying issue is not the industry’s obsession with remakes, but how producers and filmmakers often overlook the fact that much of this successful international content is easily accessible to Indian viewers. In fact, the Hindi-dubbed version of The Pool is already available on YouTube.

As someone who enjoys the creature genre, we couldn’t help but watch the film in its entirety. Perhaps Colour Yellow will need to ensure that this dubbed Hindi version of The Pool is temporarily taken down until their film completes its theatrical run.

Watch the video story below.