VOI World/ Astha Pandey
The trailer of the movie Haq just dropped, starring Yami Gautam Dhar and Emraan Hashmi, directed by Suparn S. Varma has ignited a nationwide conversation by revisiting one of India’s most controversial and transformative legal battles of 1985 The Shah Bano case.
The movie is set for release on November 7, the film takes its cue from the real-life story of Shah Bano Begum, whose fight for alimony after being divorced through triple talaq shook the foundations of India’s legal and religious frameworks. The trailer was captive, that not just opens as a domestic tale of marriage and separation but also expands into a larger courtroom drama where faith, gender and justice collide.
In Haq, Yami Gautam plays Shazia Bano, a character inspired by Shah Bano, while Emraan Hashmi portrays her husband, Abbas. What begins as a personal marital dispute spirals into a legal and moral debate over a Muslim woman’s right to maintenance. When Shazia’s husband pronounces talaq three times and abandons her, she chooses not to remain silent.
The trailer’s emotional intensity peaks as she declares, “I am not just a Muslim woman, but a Muslim woman of India,” highlighting the tension between religious identity and constitutional equality. It’s a reminder that the story, while set decades ago, continues to echo in the present.
The real Shah Bano case, decided by the Supreme Court in 1985, was a landmark judgement in India’s judicial history. After her husband refused to pay alimony, 62-year-old Shah Bano took her case to court, invoking Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code, a secular law ensuring maintenance for divorced women unable to support themselves. The court ruled in her favour, asserting that religious personal laws could not override the Constitution’s guarantee of equality.
However, her struggle of what began as a victory for women’s rights quickly became a political storm. The backlash from conservative religious groups led to the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986 who was widely criticised for diluting the court’s progressive verdict. This legal tug-of-war further on exposed India’s uneasy balance between personal faith and constitutional secularism.
Haq just doesn’t retell this case,but also reframes it for a modern audience. The film positions Shah Bano’s legacy within today’s India, where debates over the Uniform Civil Code, women’s rights, and religious reform continue to dominate public discourse.
Through strong cinematic storytelling, Haq poses enduring questions as well.
How does one balance respect for religious traditions with the promise of equal rights?
And what happens when private pain becomes a public cause?
In the world’s largest democracy, what does justice truly mean for women like Shah Bano?
In showing one woman’s courage to stand up against systemic injustice, the film speaks to every woman who has ever fought to be seen as equal under the law.
Yet, the film’s release isn’t without controversy. Shah Bano’s daughter, Siddiqua Begum, has reportedly sent a legal notice to the filmmakers, alleging unauthorised use of her mother’s story. The issue raises a delicate question around artistic freedom and due personal consent, especially when filmmakers adapt real-life struggles for entertainment. There’s also the risk of polarisation, some may see Haq as a challenge to religious authority, while others may view it as a tribute to reform and justice.
In a landscape filled with formulaic entertainment, this film’s courage lies in making people think, reflect, and question. Haq is more than just a film, it is also a mirror to India’s ongoing struggle around women rights, between faith and freedom, tradition and transformation.
