Those who remember the turbulent eighties will confirm that the historic Shah Bano case reshaped the cracks in Indian secularism and identity politics for decades. But beyond the courts, clerical objections and political outrage, the story of faith, human dignity and women’s rights unfolded within four walls. In the realm of fantasy and vision, this week director Suparan Verma presents a new take on the story of a devoted wife who is abandoned after remarriage, triple divorce by her husband in quick succession, brutal separation from maintenance and a fierce struggle for maintenance, turning a domestic dispute into a national debate with profound socio-political implications.
Directed by Suparan Varma, Haq is a very interesting story of a mother’s fight against the system and society. This provocative drama is inspired by the Shah Bano case. But this film is more than just a court story. It is a human story that is very relevant today.
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The story of authority
The film centers on Shazia Bano (Yami Gautam) and her husband Abbas Khan (Emraan Hashmi). Set in a small town in Uttar Pradesh in the late 1960s, the film first shows how a seemingly traditional marriage begins to crumble under the burden of multiple divorces, neglect, and the loss of both legal and moral rights.
Over time, what unfolds is more than a personal tragedy: it becomes a study of how a woman confronts traditions, faith-based power structures, and the system of law. Haq also draws parallels with the real-life Shah Bano case, which was of great importance for women’s maintenance rights in India.
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Credits: Writing and Directing
What is special about Verma’s direction is that he lets the story breathe instead of forcing his message. Although the film feels a little slow at times, the pacing is thoughtful. In the film, Shazia’s pre-crisis life is given space and her downfall seems earned rather than forced. There is a clear effort to maintain balance: the film avoids portraying religion as the enemy and instead focuses on how interpretation, power structures, and social inertia combine to suppress voices.
Visually and thematically, the film uses the courtroom as a battleground, but the emotional battles begin much earlier, in kitchens, in bedrooms, in small betrayals that escalate into reckoning.
Through Haq, the makers also want to tackle some serious issues: triple talaq, alimony, right to maintenance under Section 125 of the Indian Penal Code, tension between religious personal laws and the secular legal system. It places the personal within the political and argues that dignity, respect and legal rights, especially for marginalized people, are intertwined.
The film’s title and logline, ‘Haq, Mantha Haq or Daawa’, is not about a woman’s fight. It seeks to highlight the bigger picture: the demand for recognition, equality and respect within structures that largely deny them.
Right: acting
Yami Gautam has honestly given his career best performance in Haq. The way she brings alive Shazia’s silent frustration and anger is admirable. What impresses most is his restrained yet sharp intensity in the film. Furthermore, Yami’s transformation from an obedient wife to a woman who quietly asserts her claim is finely crafted as she avoids irony or theatrics.
Emraan Hashmi as Abbas Khan presents a layered portrayal of authority in the form of religious faith. In fact they express attraction as easily as danger. While his character could easily have been a one-dimensional villain, there is enough ambiguity in the acting that he comes off as frighteningly credible rather than sensational. Sheeba Chadha and Danish Hussain provide solid support and provide surrounding structure without overshadowing the central narrative.
Where do rights break?
What doesn’t really work is the gap between the manufacturers’ ambition and implementation. While the subject matter of the film is certainly heavy, the screenplay is lackluster at times. As mentioned earlier, the pace of Haq slows down at times, especially in the second half of the film, where scenes seem to drag on without adding new layers to the characters or the legal battle. Some key twists are less dramatic than other drawn-out emotional scenes, making it feel like the story is taking a step back when it most needs to move forward.
Musically, the soundtrack leaves no lasting impression, advancing the story without moving it forward. The film’s songs remain functional rather than sentimental, and some of the courtroom arguments lean more towards rhetoric than raw realism. Ultimately, Huck strives for restraint, which is a virtue of this type of story, but its caution sometimes obscures what could have been a sharper, more resonant commentary on the strength, faith, and everyday courage required to find justice.