Mrunal Thakur: Why Pooja Meri Jaan’s risky subject matters

When Navjot Gulati’s Pooja Meri Jaan began streaming on ZEE5 on October 2, it put a difficult question in front of viewers: what happens when a woman is punished for saying no? Mrunal Thakur leads the film as Pooja, a woman blamed for a man’s death after she rejects his marriage proposal. Huma Qureshi, Vijay Raaz and Vikram Singh Chauhan round out the cast in a story that moves through love, rejection and obsession.

Why Mrunal signed on

Mrunal says she did not know how much love the film would receive. What she recognised was how many women might see themselves in Pooja. “When I signed this film, I didn’t know how much love Pooja Meri Jaan would receive, but at that moment, I felt that there must be so many ‘Poojas’ in this world and even outside India,” she told Bollywood Bubble.

The subject, she believes, is “extremely relevant even today.” She framed it as a universal issue, not a niche one, and said she hopes the film can change how people think. “If the film can make even a small difference and bring about something positive, that would mean a lot to me,” she said.

What her peers told her

The reaction from inside the industry has been just as pointed. Mrunal says friends and contemporaries in India watched the film and thanked her for taking on material that could be considered difficult. She recalled being thanked for choosing “such a risky subject”, and being told it gives them strength and courage to make films like these and “make this society a better place to live.”

That peer response matters because it signals where star-led Hindi cinema may be heading: not every film needs to be designed as a safe commercial bet, and an actor with a fan base can pull attention to a subject that otherwise might not get a big platform.

Why it matters for fans

For the 18-35 Bollywood audience, this is a different kind of streaming watch. It is not built around spectacle or a music-heavy romance; it is built around a scenario many people have experienced or witnessed. The film’s power comes from making Pooja’s fear legible, and Mrunal is asking viewers to sit with that discomfort rather than look away.

• Pooja’s story turns on rejection, and the film treats the fallout as a societal issue, not just a personal one.
• The cast brings different energies to a subject about blame, obsession and boundaries.
• The real takeaway is not a twist but a conversation: how should rejection be understood rather than punished?

If you are planning to watch, keep the conversation open afterwards; the film is designed to leave questions behind. Pooja Meri Jaan is streaming on ZEE5.

Source: Bollywood Bubble

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