Emraan Hashmi’s new film "HAQ" tells a powerful story inspired by real events, the Shah Bano case, one of India's most important legal battles from the 1980s. In the film, Emraan plays Abbas, a character based on the actual man behind the case, Mohammed Ahmad Khan.
Mohammed Ahmad Khan was a prosperous Indore attorney who married Shah Bano in 1932. They had five children. But years later, Khan divorced Shah Bano, cut off her money, and married again. Shah Bano, left broke and abandoned, had no recourse other than to seek out her rights, and she brought her case to India's supreme court.
In 1985, the Supreme Court gave a landmark judgment in the case of Shah Bano. The Court ruled that all husbands of all religions are obligated under Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code to give maintenance to divorced wives if they cannot earn their living.
This was a significant landmark because Muslim personal law under the previous judgment gave protection only through the "iddat" period, a three-month waiting period after divorce.
The Court decided that the worldly legislation in this case has no conflict with Islamic teachings; indeed, as the Quran itself reminds us, a divorced wife is under an obligation to be maintained by her husband. The judgment held Muslim women, and Shah Bano among them, were entitled to maintenance after the iddat period.
The Supreme Court also pushed the cause of Uniform Civil Code in India, a single code of law for all Indian citizens, irrespective of religion, to bestow equality and justice.
But the verdict created a controversy. It was challenged by the majority of Muslim leaders, who stated that it contravened Islamic law. The government, succumbing to pressure, enacted a legislation in 1986 restricting maintenance awards to the period of iddat. In spite of that, subsequent Supreme Court rulings reaffirmed Shah Bano's maintenance right, reinstating the original judgment and affirming women's rights.
In "HAQ," Emraan Hashmi acts Abbas, giving life to the complex persona of the husband who leaves his wife and battles the case at the court, and Yami Gautam acts as Shazia Bano, based on Shah Bano, who battles for justice. Emraan also acts as the opposing lawyer at the court, which symbolizes the bigger battle against the traditional personal laws and secular justice.
This feature “Haq” that is directed by Suparn S. Varma is based on the book “Bano: Bharat ki Beti” by the author Jigna Vora. This book captures the essence of the struggle that India had to undertake to gain self-respect, & has changed the legal landscape of the country.
It is hard to imagine the scope of this struggle, & its impact, by just recalling the courageous sacrifices made by a single woman who broke the norms of the society and stirred a conversation all over the nation about women rights and equality.
The movie is set to release on the 7th of November, 2025. This much awaited movie is expected to be another big legal thriller that will keep you at the edge of your seat.