One of the film’s quieter, most haunting beats arrives as a voiceover from Yami Gautam Dhar’s Shazia Bano, who wonders aloud what the word “wife” really means. That simple, resonant question hangs over the story, nudging viewers to re-examine everyday language that carries legal and cultural weight.

Directed by Suparn Varma, Haq probes the fraught terrain of personal law, secular justice and gendered rights. Drawn from the echoes of the Shah Bano controversy, the film foregrounds strong acting — led by Yami Gautam Dhar — as it navigates debates around triple talaq and a woman’s claim to dignity and support.

Plot Overview

Shazia (Yami Gautam Dhar) is a warm, largely unlettered woman married to Abbas Khan (Emraan Hashmi), a lawyer whose career eclipses their early domestic happiness. As family pressures build, intimacy frays. The relationship ruptures when Abbas introduces a second wife, and Shazia, advised by older family members to simply accept the change, chooses to leave with her children. Abbas provides maintenance at first, then withdraws it and eventually pronounces divorce by triple talaq. The film follows Shazia’s fight in court to reclaim her rights.

The movie is rooted in an Uttar Pradesh setting that grounds its characters and conflicts. The opening half patiently sketches the couple’s life together; a small, rueful remark from a household worker early on — comparing disposable items to replaceable partners — quietly foreshadows how Shazia will be treated. While the initial chapters are measured and intimate, the film’s momentum falters somewhat after intermission.

Performance Highlights

Yami Gautam Dhar anchors the picture with a composed, emotionally textured turn. Her stunned, wordless response to Abbas’s betrayal and the anguish she carries into the courtroom scenes feel genuine and restrained, even when the script slips toward melodrama. Emraan Hashmi pares down his usual bravado to play Abbas as composed and calculating, which makes the couple’s dissolution more affecting.

Vartika Singh gives a quietly dignified performance as the second wife, Saira, while Danish Husain offers steady support as Shazia’s father. Sheeba Chadha, portraying Shazia’s counsel, stands out for embodying the film’s refusal to cast the conflict as a religious showdown — a Hindu lawyer defending a Muslim woman’s entitlement to justice.

Haq functions less as a flawless courtroom thriller and more as a respectful prompt for conversation. Suparn Varma’s return to a landmark public debate is earnest, and the committed performances — especially Yami Gautam Dhar’s — ensure the film lingers beyond the credits.