‘Some films are meant to more than just entertain you. They are meant to challenge, provoke, push you to think, instil change, and be in the public conversation.’
‘That is Haq.’
IMAGE: Yami Gautam and Emraan Hashmi at the Haq trailer launch event in Mumbai, October 27, 2025. Photograph: Hemant Shivsharan/Rediff
Emraan Hashmi and Yami Gautam Dhar will share screen space for the first time in the courtroom drama, Haq, which releases in theatres on November 7.
They play a couple battling out divorce in the courtroom against the complex backdrop of faith and Constitutional rights, which is a dramatised account of the 1985 Supreme Court judgment over the controversial maintenance lawsuit in the Mohd Ahmed Khan vs Shah Bano Begum case.
Yami portrays Shazia Bano, a Muslim woman fighting for her rights and justice, and Emraan plays her former husband Abbas, who is also the opposing lawyer.
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Video: Afsar Dayatar/Rediff
At the trailer launch of the film in Mumbai, Emraan said Haq champions women’s rights and it aims to spark meaningful conversation.
“The Shah Bano case rattled the country at that time. The entire country was divided in two halves: One side was on the side of religion and personal faith, and the other side was on the side of the Constitution and secular rights,” Emraan recalled.
“Some films are meant to more than just entertain you. They are meant to challenge, provoke, push you to think, instil change, and be in the public conversation. That is Haq,” Emraan said.
IMAGE: Vartika Singh, Yami Gautam, Emraan Hashmi, Director Suparn S Varma and Co-Producer Amrita Pandey at the Haq trailer launch event. Photograph: Hemant Shivsharan/Rediff
Speaking about the film’s wider impact on the society, Emraan described Haq as “a great piece of work” and urged the Muslim community to watch it.
“When people would come out of cinema halls, I don’t know what will be their opinion, but I know that most of them will find the film extremely balanced, and one thing that comes out screaming, it is pro-women, this is something I took from the film,” Emraan said.
“For my community, I felt this is from a liberal Muslim’s point of view. I think it is a great piece of work. The entire team has made a beautiful film and Muslims should really come and watch this film because you will connect it with in a very different way.”
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Video: Afsar Dayatar/Rediff
Director Suparn S Varma, known for directing sections of The Family Man, Season 2 and Rana Naidu, both seasons as well as The Trial, Season One and writing Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai, said he spent three years with writer Reshu Nath in writing and researching Haq and the film comes from a place of “love, respect and honesty for all.”
“There was a bit of worry when we made Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai (the 2023 courtroom drama featuring Manoj Bajpayee), but the amount of support we got for that film gave us a lot of encouragement to tell more such stories,” Varma said.
“When we started researching and writing Haq, our entire strength came from the fact that we knew this is the film that needs to be made and talked about. The topic it touches upon is still very relevant.”
IMAGE: Yami Gautam, Vartika Singh and Emraan Hashmi at the Haq trailer launch event. Photograph: Hemant Shivsharan/Rediff
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Yami, who takes yet another hard-hitting role after A Thursday, Article 370, OMG 2, said she is drawn to stories that showcase courage and honesty.
“I am a person who goes by my instinct. If it’s a story worth telling, there’s a journey for every character. I believe in that. Audience is very important to me. They should like it, they should feel that this story is worth their money,” Yami said.
IMAGE: Yami Gautam, Vartika Singh and Emraan Hashmi at the Haq trailer launch event. Photograph: Hemant Shivsharan/Rediff
For Yami, Haq was special, because as she said, she has always been a fan of Emraan’s acting and that she “couldn’t picture anybody else” as her co-actor in the film.
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Video: Afsar Dayatar/Rediff
