Some films take a while to reach audiences, but Pooja Meri Jaan has had a genuinely unusual journey. The crime thriller, starring Mrunal Thakur and Huma Qureshi, is finally set to premiere on ZEE5 on October 2, 2026, nearly four years after it actually finished filming.
What’s the Story?
Directed by Navjot Gulati and co-directed by Vipasha Arvind, Pooja Meri Jaan follows Pooja, who rejects the romantic advances of her friend Aniket, only to be blamed for his death soon after. Sana, a lawyer and friend to both of them, gets pulled into the case while still grieving Aniket herself.
As she starts investigating what actually happened, she runs into conflicting accounts that complicate the entire picture, turning what looked like a straightforward tragedy into something far murkier.
The Cast
Huma Qureshi plays Sana, the lawyer at the centre of the investigation, while Mrunal Thakur plays Pooja, the woman accused of Aniket’s death. Vikram Singh Chauhan plays Aniket, and Vijay Raaz plays Jatin, rounding out the main cast. The supporting lineup includes Rajesh Jais, Chaitanya Vyas as Nikhil, Jasviekaa Dixxeeth as Kajal, Nikhil Angrish as Mayank Joshi, and Pranav Chadha as Udayveer.
Why the Four-Year Delay
This is really where Pooja Meri Jaan’s story gets genuinely interesting, and it has almost nothing to do with the film itself. The project was formally announced in July 2022, right after principal photography had already wrapped. What followed was a nearly four-year wait before it actually reached viewers, and the reasons behind that delay are worth unpacking.
The film was originally developed for a direct-to-digital release on JioCinema. But the later merger between JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar shifted the platform’s overall business strategy, which disrupted the film’s planned release pipeline entirely. From there, negotiations with other streaming platforms reportedly stalled too, largely over disagreements on acquisition pricing.
Director Navjot Gulati eventually spoke publicly about the frustration this caused, expressing his displeasure with how Maddock Films handled the release strategy.
According to him, the film essentially got caught in limbo between the production house and various streaming platforms trying to negotiate a deal.
A theatrical release was also considered at one point in 2024, but that plan was eventually postponed too, partly because Maddock Films had several major theatrical projects already lined up, including Chhaava, which further complicated scheduling.
Interestingly, this isn’t the first time a Maddock Films project has run into this exact problem. Tehran, starring John Abraham, went through a nearly identical ordeal. It finished filming back in 2022 and was originally slated for a 2023 release but ultimately didn’t stream until August 2025 on ZEE5, a delay strikingly similar to what Pooja Meri Jaan has now gone through.
About Maddock Films
Produced by Dinesh Vijan and Amar Kaushik under Maddock Films, Pooja Meri Jaan comes from a production house that’s built a genuinely strong reputation in Indian cinema. Maddock is behind hits like Stree, Bhediya, Munjya, Stree 2, Param Sundari, Sky Force, Ikkis, and Thamma, alongside acclaimed dramas and thrillers like Badlapur, Hindi Medium, Mimi, and Chhorii. Given that track record, there’s genuine reason to expect Pooja Meri Jaan to hold up well despite its unusually long road to release.
Should You Watch It?
Delays like this one can sometimes make a film feel like an afterthought by the time it actually releases, but given Maddock’s consistent quality across genres and a premise built around grief, blame, and conflicting truths, Pooja Meri Jaan looks like it’s worth the wait, four years or not.
If you’re building out your October watchlist, there’s more worth checking out too. #Love’s release date on Netflix and Chumbak Part 2’s return to Netflix are both landing around the same window, giving audiences a genuinely varied slate of new releases this October.
Pooja Meri Jaan premieres on ZEE5 on October 2, 2026.