When composer Prateek Rajagopal left India in 2019 to build a career in Hollywood, returning to score a Hindi feature wasn’t exactly part of the plan. But Tu Yaa Main, director Bejoy Nambiar’s survival thriller, came calling. What drew the composer to the project was the sensibility. “I’ve always wanted to work with filmmakers who are thoughtful and experimental. Bejoy was like that,” said the musician.

Rajagopal’s transition from Hollywood productions to a Hindi feature revealed glaring differences. He pointed out that a structured ecosystem exists in Hollywood. “There is a dedicated music department of music editors, mixers, and agents. Here, I ended up wearing every hat, from scoring the film to writing music for the trailer and teaser.”

Prateek Rajagopal

The process of developing the background score for the Adarsh Gourav and Shanaya Kapoor-led thriller was “intense, but also rewarding” for him. Considering it was a creature thriller that sees the leads battling for survival against a crocodile, the score had to mirror the film’s pulse. “Genre films like this really thrive on score. Think of something like Jaws [1975]; you can’t separate the film from its theme. Creepy string melodies, retro synth ideas, and specific percussive rhythms are all wrapped in a modern electronic production language,” he explained.

Developing a score that reflected the leads’ tension and dread became a back-and-forth exchange between Nambiar and him, as they fed off each other. With Tu Yaa Main, Rajagopal consciously wanted to export one facet from Hollywood. “Hollywood films place an emphasis on background score, whereas in Hindi cinema, the focus has traditionally been on songs. I wanted to bring that level of care and intention to the score here.”