Pooja Meri Jaan: When “No” Becomes Someone Else’s Problem

Pooja Meri Jaan opens with a simple, uncomfortable question: What happens when a woman says no and the man's reaction becomes her problem?

Pooja (Mrunal Thakur) turns down her close friend Aniket (Vikram Singh Chauhan) after he proposes to her in public. When he takes his own life, she is the one who ends up in court, charged with abetment.

It is a strong premise. And thankfully, the film doesn't make things quite as black-and-white as they first appear.

Pooja is not entirely black and white either. There are moments when she enjoys the comfort Aniket provides, even though she knows he is in love with her. But does that make her responsible for what he feels? Pooja Meri Jaan makes it clear that it doesn't. And that is where the film hits home.

And then there is Aniket. He manages to make you angry and feel sorry for him at the same time. For much of the film, you are unsure whether he is a genuinely heartbroken man or someone using his heartbreak to manipulate those around him. And then the truth comes out.

Mrunal Thakur is the heart of the film. She plays Pooja with a quiet vulnerability but never makes her helpless. There is a certain ambiguity to her performance that keeps you invested in Pooja, particularly in the moments when she herself isn't sure how much of Aniket's attention she should accept. Thakur also handles the shifts in Pooja's emotional state well — from confusion and guilt to fear and, eventually, the determination to stand up for herself. She makes Pooja feel like a woman caught in a situation she never asked for, rather than simply a character written to make a point.

Huma Qureshi is natural and steady as Sana, Pooja's lawyer and friend, while Vijay Raaz is, as always, a pleasure to watch. Both bring an ease to the courtroom scenes, where director Navjot Gulati packages the film's concerns in a more accessible, crowd-pleasing Bollywood format. Vikram Singh Chauhan has perhaps the trickiest role. Aniket has to make you sympathise with him while also making you question his actions, and for the most part, he manages that balance.

The film, however, could have benefited from stronger writing. The mystery isn't particularly difficult to figure out, and some of the dialogue feels like it is trying a little too hard to make sure the audience gets the message. A subplot involving a dangerous inmate in jail also feels unnecessary. The film could have spent more time showing us the relationship between Pooja and Aniket. We understand their history, but seeing more of it may have made the emotional stakes stronger.

What does work is the film's understanding of how quickly a woman's choice can become her fault. The media trial, the social media outrage, and the character assassination and judgement all feel uncomfortably familiar. I also liked the way the film looks at the romanticisation of persistence and heartbreak. What may look like love from one person's perspective can feel very different to the person on the receiving end.

Pooja Meri Jaan may not always strike the right balance, and there are times when it spells out what it wants to say. But its heart is in the right place. At its core, the film asks us to look at what happens when a woman's “no” is treated as something that needs to be explained, justified, or punished — when sometimes a no should simply be enough.

Pooja Meri Jaan is streaming on Zee5.