Mrunal Thakur: Two Friends Bullied Me for Saying No

Mrunal Thakur has been making the rounds for Pooja Meri Jaan, the new Zee5 thriller that turns a rejected marriage proposal into a dark chain of events. But the conversation went somewhere more personal when Thakur opened up about the cost of saying no in her own life.

The film’s premise

In the film, Thakur plays Pooja Dogra. Her long-time boyfriend Aniket, played by Vikram Singh Chauhan, surprises her with a proposal. When her character turns him down, he spirals, takes his own life and leaves a note naming her as the reason. Public outrage follows, and Pooja has to rely on lawyer Sana Mehfooz, played by Huma Qureshi, to navigate the backlash.

The makers have framed the drama around four ideas: rejection, obsession, consent and accountability. It is an emotionally loaded mix, because the film treats rejection not as a quiet private moment but as the spark for a public storm.

The story behind the role

Speaking about the film’s themes, Thakur remembered a smaller version of the same dynamic from her younger days. Two close friends liked her at the same time. She said no to both, and they began calling her names.

“When I said ‘no’ to both of them, they started calling me names,” she said.

She said she confronted them only when she was 25 or 26. They told her they had no idea they had bullied her and apologised after more than a decade.

That detail matters. It means the damage did not need a grand plot twist. Ordinary name-calling after a rejection stayed with her long enough to come up in a press conversation years later.

Why this resonates now

There is a clean line from Thakur’s memory to Pooja’s ordeal. In both, the woman’s no is treated as a wound to the other person rather than a boundary. The film simply pushes that reaction to its most extreme form: a suicide note, public blame and legal pressure.

For Hindi film fans, this is not just a thriller. It is a reminder that the backlash after a no can be social, emotional and, in the film, dangerously public. The conversation around consent often focuses on the word yes, but Pooja Meri Jaan keeps the focus on what happens after a no. That is also why the film’s release has sparked chatter: audiences recognise the pattern even before the thriller mechanics take over.

What you can do with that discomfort

If the film leaves you unsettled, that discomfort is useful. It can show up in everyday settings long before it becomes a headline.

• Treat a no as a complete sentence, not an invitation to negotiate.
• Notice how you retell rejection stories; shaming can start as a joke.
• If you mishandled a rejection years ago, apologise without expecting instant forgiveness.

Thakur’s friends needed more than a decade to say sorry. Pooja Meri Jaan asks what happens when no one does.

Source: Filmfare