By Ayesha Khan 
New Delhi, September 23: The teaser of HAQ is out. In less than a minute of footage, it has dragged an old fight back into the present. The film stars Yami Gautam and Emraan Hashmi. It takes its cues from the Shah Bano case of 1985, a Supreme Court verdict that once split Parliament, set off street protests, and still sits in the middle of arguments about religion and rights.
The teaser is simple. Gautam, as Shazia Bano, walks into court to demand maintenance. Her husband, played by Hashmi, stands against her. The law she cites is Section 125 of the CrPC. His answer is religion. The tension hangs in the silences. No music, no distraction. Just words. And then Gautam’s line: “I am not just a Muslim woman, I am a Muslim woman of Hindustan.” That sentence is already everywhere. People are quoting it, cutting it into reels, arguing over it.
The real case was no less dramatic. Shah Bano was 62 when she went to court. Her husband had divorced her. She asked for maintenance. The Supreme Court ruled she was entitled to it under secular law. For a brief moment, it looked like a turning point for women. But the backlash was immediate. Clerics protested. Meetings were held. The Rajiv Gandhi government stepped in. In 1986, Parliament passed the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act. That law rolled back the court’s decision. Women’s groups called it a betrayal. Politicians called ita compromise. For Shah Bano, the victory was gone almost as soon as it came.
That story is the weight behind HAQ. Four decades later, the same questions remain. Does religion decide family disputes, or does the Constitution? The teaser makes clear which side the film is on.
The project comes from Suparn S. Varma, directing with Junglee Pictures, Insomnia Films, and Baweja Studios producing. The cast is built for drama over glamour. Along with Gautam and Hashm,i there is Sheeba Chaddha, Danish Hussain, and Aseem Hattangady.
Reaction has been quick and mostly positive. Gautam is being praised as fierce and vulnerable in equal measure. “National Award material,” some posts said. Hashmi, too, has won attention for stepping away from his older image. The film does not look like a star vehicle. It looks like a courtroom fight with history as the backdrop.
The timing is hard to ignore. HAQ will release on 7 November 2025. That is why debate around a Uniform Civil Code is alive again. The UCC is essentially the same question the Shah Bano case raised: should personal law stand above the Constitution, or not? That overlap means the film will not be viewed as just cinema. It will be read as commentary, maybe even as provocation.
There is praise, but also caution. Some wonder if the film will go beyond the courtroom and show the messy politics that followed. Others ask if Bollywood will again smooth the rough edges of history into a tidy ending. Those doubts will only be answered in November.
For now, the fact is clear. One teaser, one line, and the Shah Bano debate is back in the headlines. That tells you how much power this story still carries.
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- Ayesha Khanhttps://hindustanherald.in/author/ayesha/
- Ayesha Khanhttps://hindustanherald.in/author/ayesha/
- Ayesha Khanhttps://hindustanherald.in/author/ayesha/
- Ayesha Khanhttps://hindustanherald.in/author/ayesha/
