Haq

Haq starring Yami Gautam and Emraan Hashmi was released in movie halls on November 7, 2025 . Netflix premiered the movie on January 2 , 2026.

The movie is inspired by Shah Bano Begum vs Mohd. Ahmed Khan case in which a historic verdict was given by the Supreme court of India on April 23, 1985. It entitled a divorced Muslim woman the right to get maintenance from her estranged husband under secular law (CrPC Section 125), even beyond the ‘iddat period’, that is, an Islamic waiting period for Muslim women after the dissolution of marriage (by death or divorce) during which they cannot remarry. For divorced women it is a period of around 90 days after talaq. The judgment said, “There is no conflict between Section 125 and Muslim personal law” since the Qur’an itself imposed a duty on Muslim husbands to provide for their divorced wives.

 The Shah Bano verdict is considered a landmark judgement, since, according to Sharia, a woman is allowed to remarry after her iddat period is over. If she does not remarry, it is upon her male kins to provide for her or she may approach the Waqf for financial support. ( It is here to be noted that while Quran is considered to be God’s direct commands and principles ; Islamic Law or Sharia law or Sharia , as it is commonly called, is the human interpretation of the Quran and other texts considered sacred by the Muslims. It is the body of rules guiding all aspects of Muslim life.)

This verdict given by the Supreme court of India on April 23, 1985 was a moral victory for many wronged Muslim women against whom injustice has been done by their husbands.

The movie Haq is directed by Suparn S. Varma. Both Yami Gautam who plays the role of Sazia Bano, and Emraan Hashmi as Abbas Khan, a noted lawyer, were outstanding in their performance.

Sazia Bano, a homemaker, was blessed with three children and a loving lawyer husband who showered love, liberty and wealth alike on his wife. She was the queen of his heart and his house . Such was his affection and concern for her self-respect that once when over a trivial dispute with the neighbour , the neighbour disregarded Sazia by saying that Sazia was not the owner of the property, Mohammad Abbas Khan, Sazia’s husband , immediately transferred a part of the property in her name.

All of a sudden her husband started showing indifference to her. He went to Pakistan for three weeks , stating that he had some urgent property dispute to attend to. He returned after three months with a new wife, a widowed cousin of his, Saira. As for the reason behind the marriage, he explained that since marrying a widow in Islam is an act of piety, he had married Saira. He convinced Sazia that Sazia was his true love, and his second wife would help the pregnant Sazia with her delivery and her household chores.

When later Sazia came upon the truth that the woman was actually her husband’s former love, she felt betrayed, yet, she kept her cool and went on adjusting with the second wife. Gradually she kept losing both her husband and home to the younger woman, Saira, played by Vartika Singh – and at last her marriage too.

When once, on Sazia’s marriage anniversary, Abbas ignored and insulted Sazia, Sazia could take it no more and left the house with her children.

 Abbas would initially send money to Sazia . Suddenly, her husband stopped sending her money . Her father went to the Qazi pleading him to talk to her husband over giving her the allowance to maintain her children. The Qazi instead asked her not to make a fuss over the petty ‘second marriage’ matter , and return to her husband instead. Ultimately when she returned to her husband to come to terms with him, since she was a mother and could not see her children suffering, her husband did not take her in . Instead he refused her a regular maintenance, insulted her and before she realised anything, he gave her talaq by pronouncing talaq thrice .

Sazia’s fight for maintenance begins here. She runs from civil court to waqf to the secular Indian court again in demand for maintenance and ultimately gets maintenance after ten long years of legal war with his husband. The Waqf which initially had turned her down, now joined her husband against her . They believed that Sazia, by dragging matters of the sacred Sharia law to the court is making a mockery of their sacred law. She is an infidel.

The movie shows the plight, agony and helpless of Muslim women in the patriarchal Muslim society. Firstly , Sazia’s husband remarries without even informing his wife beforehand; then without any warning repeats the word talaq only thrice to break out of a relationship, which to a man is a sheer contact, but which to a woman means the world. When she protests , her society shames her, castigates her, boycotts her . When a woman tries to justify herself stating instances , quotes, arguments and statements from their religious texts, she is denounced and the society rises against them. She is called a traitor.

The character of Sazia Bano has been beautifully portrayed by Yami Gautam. The glee, joy, happiness of a homemaker and mother who loves and whose love is reciprocated; her grief when her husband brings his second wife home; the pain of betrayal when she comes to know the truth about her husband ‘s marriage; her distressed feeling when she was losing her hold over the house she had furnished and decorated with her own hands; her speechlessness-disbelief-and ultimate realisation immediately after Abbas had pronounced ‘ talaq’ thrice , and her trauma immediately after ; her deep concern for her parents’ safety ; and the like have been faithfully, truly, convincingly portrayed by her.

I especially liked best her acting in the marriage anniversary scene – her insecure feeling that perhaps she is not as appealing as before, since her husband loves Saira more than her, has dwindled her confidence. She looks a bit aged now. However, she tries desperately to overcome her fear , forget the neglect and self-respect, and wants to rekindle her husband’s love for her. She thus, with nervous excitement enters her husband ‘s office . But what she receives from her husband is sheer abuse . The indignation Sazia felt at being almost turned forcefully out of the chamber reverberates through the audience .

  Sazia is admirable. She is strong, she is bold, she is indomitable, she is rational, she is quick witted.

Emraan Hashmi’s acting as a man driven not by villainy but by his ego is also praiseworthy.

Another character worth mentioning is Sazia Bano’s father, a Maulavi, played by Danish Husain. Sazia’s father is her strength. He stood by Sazia during all ups and downs of her life. He encouraged Sazia to wage the legal battle despite all setbacks. He defended Sazia and criticised Abbas for duping Sazia when all others in his community were supporting Abbas. He never asked Sazia to return to her husband, even when poverty was knocking on his door, since people had stopped sending their children to his school. When the members of the Waqf were condemning her, Sazia’s father declared that he was proud of his daughter.

The setting too is in tune with the protagonist ‘s mood and situation. Initially it was grand and bright which reflected Sazia’s happy state. After Abbas married for the second time, the setting gradually started getting grey. Hindi infused with Urdu make the dialogues rich and elegant , and gives a classy touch to the film

However , the most attractive part of the movie is the trial scene, which especially makes the movie a Must- Watch Hindi Movie. I would rate the movie 4.5 out of 5