Is Yami Gautam Dhar starrer Haq hinting at a uniform civil code?

Call it his moment of reckoning or an emotionally overwhelming one, Suparn S Varma has every haq to be on cloud nine. As his directorial Haq opened to rave reviews and is faring fairly well on box-office too, for Suparn, Haq’s success is indeed the stuff dreams are made of.Talking of the film, he worked on it for three years. One was spent in research, studying legal documents, histories of inspiration, including Shah Bano’s case, another one on writing and then the actual making of the emotional world of Shazia Bano and Abbas Khan. He says, “We saw it as a story of marriage, a domestic dispute that became a national issue.” For him every story is political if it concerns ‘power imbalance, even in a marriage.’When fact marries fiction, the biggest dilemma a filmmaker faces is how to retain the truth and honesty of the story. When facts are steeped in a faith he personally does not practise, the responsibility becomes greater and stakes go higher. As he puts it, “I come from this proud country, where Hindu Sikh Isai Muslim, sab Bhai Bhai and when your intentions are right you meet the right kind of people. I have had mentors of all faiths, including men like Feroze Khan.”Thus among the many heartening responses to his film have been from action director Eejaj Gulab whose laudatory words were — ‘This is it’. Many others like writers Hussain and Abbas Dalal responded — ‘Finally we are being shown as who we are; proud Indians, not Aurangzeb or Khilji. Here we have a Muslim woman standing with the national flag in the background.’And then there have been fans like this Muslim boy who could identify with Shazia’s story as his mother’s. For Suparn this could well be Suneeta’s predicament. “Things,” he asserts, “have not changed for women, not only in this country but world over. They are still fighting gender bias, glass ceiling. It’s still a man’s world. Even though they are biologically, mentally, emotionally superior yet they have it tough, period.” Thus men like Abbas played by Emraan Hashmi, seemingly genial on the face of it but subversive beneath the surface, are not uncommon. On his casting choices, Yami Gautam Dhar was his first and last choice and Emraan is someone he had always been dreaming to work with. As both actors appear born for the parts, he lauds them for their dedication. “Yami became Shazia for 32 days that we shot the film and Emraan was not only in when he read the script but had many fearless suggestions too.”The journalist in Suparn makes him see facts beyond headlines, dig deeper and get to the gist of the story and its many facets. Do courtroom dramas fascinate him more? There has been The Trial, Sirf Ek Banda Kaafi Hai which he produced and now Haq. He nods and answers, “I love the shocks, surprises, intellectual arguments, discourses which legal dramas allow you.”But there have been many other projects in his filmography. Besides Rana Naidu, there has also been Raj and DK’s famed series The Family Man 2. So, he would rather call himself ‘genre agnostic.’ In case, you are curious he isn’t part of the third outing of The Family Man for he was busy shooting Haq and Rana Naidu Season 2. Right now, like Arjuna’s unwavering focus, his eyes are on Haq’s theatrical run and getting the message of his thought-provoking film across to audiences. Whether the film bats for uniform civil code is something he insists, “Audiences can decipher for themselves. For me this is about Shazia who fought for her right and won.”Making a riveting film with a beating heart and resounding thought can’t possibly be an easy balance to achieve. He says, “You do your best… I am a fearless maker who works from the heart and goes for the heart with zero agenda.” And then the universe conspires to ensure magic is created. Haq sure is being hailed both by critics and audiences as cinematic marvel.

Is Yami Gautam Dhar starrer Haq hinting at a uniform civil code?

Suparn S Varma says the answer for you to decipher in Shazia’s story...

Nonika Singh

Is Yami Gautam Dhar starrer Haq hinting at a uniform civil code?

Suparn S Varma says the answer for you to decipher in Shazia’s story...

Nonika Singh

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