‘Pooja Meri Jaan’ movie review: Mrunal Thakur steers a sterile critique of male entitlement

A timely critique of patriarchal definitions of consent and female agency, Pooja Meri Jaanworks like a companion piece to films like Pink and Article 375. Operating beneath the veneer of failed romance and a courtroom thriller, the narrative interrogates the limits of male obsession and the sharp societal backlash faced by a self-actualised woman asserting her autonomy.

The plot follows Pooja (Mrunal Thakur), a young woman whose firm rejection of her longtime friend Aniket’s (Vikram Singh Chauhan) romantic advances triggers a chain reaction that upends her life.

While Pink confronts the overt, external threat of male violence following a refusal, Pooja Meri Jaan pivots to an internalised, psychological battle. By having the suitor end his own life rather than lash out physically, director Navjot Gulati, along with co-director Vipasha Arvind, exposes how male entitlement can morph into a kind of martyrdom, implicitly holding the woman legally and socially accountable for his self-destruction.

The narrative gradually exposes the friction that arises when a woman’s autonomy and self-reliance disrupt patriarchal expectations. It underlines that while the traditional frameworks of the male provider and the dependent woman are broken, the rigid male ego remains unprepared to accept that a woman’s sexual and romantic choices do not require justification. Drawing on pop culture, the writing (Navjot, Kanishka Singh Deo and Niren Bhatt) dismantles the pervasive Bollywood trope that relentless wooing eventually yields female acceptance.

Huma Qureshi in ‘Pooja Meri Jaan’
| Photo Credit:
Zee 5

Reframing it as a dangerous psychological intrusion, it strips the glamour from the persistent lover archetype, exposing it as a toxic exercise in entitlement and stalking. As the drama quickly drops its mask, the film’s moral compass aligns with Pooja. It validates her freedom of choice simply as a fundamental human right.

That said, the film suffers from an overtly expository execution, operating much like a journalistic column that uses a real-world tragedy merely as a springboard for sociological commentary. Lacking a distinct visual palette or cinematic texture, it relies heavily on dialogue to deliver its thesis, ensuring that every moral and narrative beat is spoken rather than felt.

Vijay Raaz and Huma Qureshi in ‘Pooja Meri Jaan’
| Photo Credit:
Zee 5

Moreover, unnecessary stylistic fluff dilutes the urgency. From the heavy-handed Romeo and Juliet metaphors to the immaculate nail art and the dressed-up jail inmate, the clumsy detailing distracts from the theme’s sensitive nature. One understands that the makers want to convey that girls are often judged by how they turn up in a sad situation, but too much underlining mutes the impact, particularly when you have the talent to convey the unsaid.

Mrunal is consistently saddled with meaty roles in lackadaisical projects. While her nuanced portrayal of trauma keeps Pooja from becoming a passive victim, the film’s editorial style fails to match the urgency her performance demands. Huma Qureshi and Vijay Raaz bring some life to staple courtroom mouthpieces, stepping into the shoes of generic lawyers who exist to vocalise the talking points mapped out by the writers.

Not bad if you are scanning for a title on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Pooja Meri Jaan is currently streaming on Zee 5