Fight for ‘Haq’ that gets it just right

Shah Bano is a name etched in the annals of judicial history, as an epitome of resistance and resilience. Of course, in ‘Haq’, though inspired by Jigna Vora’s book ‘Bano: Bharat ki Beti’, the name is Shazia Bano. Why ‘Haq’, revisiting the landmark 1985 Supreme Court judgment on Muslim women’s right to maintenance, had to seek refuge under a long disclaimer and change of name needs no second guess.

As things stand, Shah Bano’s daughter has filed a case against the makers (which has been dismissed). With the exceptionally well-made film, we don’t know whether this re-imagination of the historic verdict in favour of Shah Bano will satisfy her daughter or not, but naysayers fearing a dose of Islamophobia can relax.

For, here is a film, set in the late 1970s and early 1980s, which questions and defends women’s rights — yes, very much of Muslim women, but without feeding into any fear-mongering. In fact, there is no demonising here; forget the community, not even of the central character Abbas Khan (Emraan Hashmi).

Abbas Khan, like millions of men, lets his woman, in this case his first wife Shazia (Yami Gautam Dhar), down. But at no stage does he emerge as a foul-mouthed abuser or single- note villain.

Patriarchy, we all know, is ingrained in Indian men, and for Muslim women, the struggle is amplified by religious interpretations that grant men unique privileges working to women’s detriment. Thus, while Shazia finds it difficult to accept her spouse’s second marriage, she comes to terms with it. Until… the needle of injustice is so pointed and sharp, piercing her heart full of love, that she is forced to move court. What happens thereafter is common knowledge and is in public domain.

Where the director Suparn Varma, who co-directed the hugely successful ‘The Family Man II’, succeeds in is making it a gripping personal story of triumph. From the very first scene, you begin to empathise with his heroine Shazia, who is at once vulnerable and resolute. The beautiful Yami plays it to near perfection. From a woman madly in love with her husband to facing dejection to fighting her battle, it is a complete arc.

In the scene where she admits that she is indeed jealous of his more beautiful second wife, she imbues it with heart-aching intensity. Nowhere, not even in the impassioned defence in the climax, does she strike a false note. From a happily married woman to a hapless one brimming with understated courage, undeniably it’s the best we have seen of this talented actor from Chandigarh.

Emraan matches her note to note. As a well-placed lawyer and a husband who transforms from a caring partner to a conceited one, his part is no less nuanced. Even if not always likeable, he doesn’t overplay even in dramatic moments where he utters the three calamitous words.

In his final act, as he delivers the speech where he defends his community’s religious rights, especially Islamic religious law Shariat, he is simply brilliant.

The opposing counsel, Faraz Sayeed (Aseem Hattangady), tells his colleague Bela Jain (Sheeba Chaddha), “Abbas was so good”, and we can only nod emphatically.

Undeniably, the film belongs to its two key actors. But the supporting cast — the ever impactful Sheeba, Aseem, Rahul Mittra as district magistrate or Vartika Singh as Abbas’ second wife — has been picked with great care. Though one wishes Danish Hussain’s role had been slightly longer, there is no quarrel about how he gets this act of Maulvi, the supportive father of Shazia, right.

Why, actors like Anang Desai even in bit parts are effective. If courtroom scenes in Suparn’s production ‘Sirf Ek Banda Kaafi Hai’, were a sheer delight, in this courtroom drama, too, he gets the inflections of court proceedings with authenticity and conviction. And like ‘Sirf Ek…’, faith is not under attack.

If one watches the first half almost misty-eyed, in the second half one is all ears too, trying to understand the legalities involved in the maintenance suit. And just when you laud the fact that it’s a man at the helm narrating the story essentially from a woman’s point of view, you realise his writer, Reshu Nath, is a woman who lets in much-needed subtleties in the screenplay and dialogues.

Crisp editing by Ninad Khanolkar is yet another enabler, ensuring no scene is unnecessarily dragged. Even music (background score by Sandeep Chowta) and songs (musical score by Vishal Mishra) fit in the scheme of this emotive journey.

Yes there is a context, yes it’s about a woman of a particular religion, and yes it does sneak into certain political expediencies, including the need for a uniform civil code. But, ultimately, you will relate to this emotionally charged non-partisan retelling of a real life story at a human level. Possibly more if you are a woman, but a man’s gaze can be as insightful and remember, justice knows no gender.

The right to live with dignity is everybody’s case and no woman, irrespective of her religion, deserves to be a ‘charity case’.