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The new Hindi movie Haq is loosely based on the famous Mohd. Ahmed Khan v. Shah Bano Begum case, which led to a major debate about how the law is applied, as our constitution gives space for each religion to follow its practices. Haq is not trying to be a movie that explores all aspects of this legal mess. Because when you address that issue, it leads to the debate of the Uniform Civil Code, and it opens the Pandora’s box of endless contradicting interpretations of Articles in our constitution. Director Suparn Verma is trying to look at the whole thing from an empathetic eye, and what we eventually get is a movie that documents an actual struggle with the help of some strong performances.
In 1967, Shazia Bano got married to Mohammed Ahmed Khan, a lawyer. A few years later, Khan went to Pakistan, and when he returned, he had married another woman named Saira. This act created some tension between the couple, which eventually led to their separation. What we see here is Bano’s fight for maintenance money when an ego-hurt Khan decides to stop giving it, using the loopholes in the Islamic Law.
Despite having all the opportunities in the current political scenario to blame the community for being insensitive, Haq is more focused on the emotional aspect of the Story. It is trying to emphasize the angle where the right to practice religion gets misconstrued to uphold patriarchal values. The antagonist here is not painted as a clown who blatantly says misogynistic things. We realize why Bano never wanted to leave him or fight him. He is portrayed as this clever lawyer who is fighting to maintain the status quo. While the first half of the movie manages to balance documentation and drama compellingly, the second half, where we see far too many cut-to-blacks, the film becomes that typical courtroom rhetoric with less flair in storytelling.
Yami Gautam Dhar is the major reason why the movie feels absorbing even in its weakest areas. There is a moment inside the Supreme Court in the film where her character is presenting her case in front of the judge, and the performance is so brilliant that there is no background score in certain lengthy patches of that scene. From being this vibrant girl to someone who had to face all sorts of othering, Yami manages to crack the perfect meter to perform that character. Emraan Hashmi as Mohammed Ahmed Khan humanizes the character impressively. In the scene where Khan interprets the whole case as an attack on religious belief, you would also feel like one of the lawyers in the movie who felt his point was right. Vartika Singh as Saira couldn’t really create much of an impression. Danish Hussain, as the supportive father, delivered a memorable performance. I thought Sheeba Chaddha’s character would have some space in the movie. Even though that character was key to the journey of Bano, as a performer, Chaddha didn’t have much to do here.
The focus of Haq is not on elements that can sensationalize the movie for the wrong reasons. It questions the basic insensitivity of leaving a marriage in a one-sided manner, not offering any help, and using religion as a shield. This is a fictionalized account of the original case, with the years and ages of the characters getting altered. Written by Reshu Nath, the movie subtly shows how important the support system is when a woman is going through such a situation. The father character is not glorified here as a protector. He supports his daughter as a very basic and logical thing to do. Like I already said, there is an eventfulness with many shades of emotions in the first half of the movie. However, when it comes to the second half, the moments and their construction feel somewhat easy to guess, and you could see the film depending on the sympathy we would have for Shazia Bano to survive that phase.
In terms of documenting the legal battle of Shah Bano Begum through a fictionalized version and shedding light on certain injustice that uses the protection of religion, Haq has done justice to its intent. In terms of building a compelling cinema, I would say the execution is uneven and predictable. On a different note, I would say that Haq is one movie that actually utilized the CBFC’s biased approach smartly to create a social drama during this propaganda-heavy political climate.
Review By: Digitpatrox