HAQ Movie Review: The Right Fight

HAQ Cast/Actors: Yami Gautam Dhar, Emraan Hashmi, Sheeba Chaddha and more

HAQ Director: Suparn S. Varma

HAQ Production House: Insomnia Films and Baweja Studios

HAQ Movie Release Date: 07 November 2025

HAQ Movie Available On: Theatrical Release (likely to be released on Netflix OTT Platform)

HAQ Released/Available In Languages: Hindi

HAQ Movie Runtime: 2h 16m

HAQ Movie Review:

Some cases are timeless. The Supreme Court ruling that favoured maintenance for Shah Banoo, a Muslim wife and her kids in 1985, resonates even today, nothing outdated about it.

In fact, give it to director Suparn Varma and his writer Reshu Nath for making Shazia Banoo (Yami Gautam Dhar) so relevant that her fight for justice transcends religious boundaries.

It holds true even today that a woman’s demand is conveniently construed by her community as defiance of her religion, warranting punishment. The social, religious and human transgressions of her husband Abbas Khan (Emraan Hashmi) are overlooked in the ensuing fervour whipped up by assorted miffed fundamentalists. But when a Shariah-believing wife suddenly finds herself being relegated from The Begum of the house to First Begum and makes her adjustments accordingly, the denial of justice by a conveniently rigid interpretation of the Shariah, forces her to go to court.

Suparn and Reshu successfully tightrope-walk the thin line between a personal law and the constitution by frequently referencing the Shariah as not in contradiction with the Indian law. Despite erring husband Abbas being a seasoned lawyer, the battle is balanced when a relatively less educated Shazia is the daughter of a maulvi (Danish Hussain) who knows his religion better than his son-in-law. With all his legal armour, Abbas has to come down to playing the victim card of his “quom”, making the weak claim that it has got only the consolation of a “fig leaf” of a personal law to retain its identity.

But it is ultimately a fight for gender justice and not a battle between the constitution and a personal law. Which is exemplified by the silent and vocal support of Saira, the Begum No 2 Abbas has brought into the house. There is a moment after a social boycott has been pronounced on Shazia, when Saira makes her stance clear and wins the viewer’s approval.

Yami Gautam Dhar gives dignity and heft to Shazia Banoo, proving once again that here’s an actress who makes the right choices. Emraan Hashmi is a perfect fit for Abbas as he does have the screen image of a rake. But it is a show of moral strength when actors like Emraan and Danish Hussain step into what could have been a religious minefield.

While Vartika Singh comes across as just as vulnerable as Shazia and with the right touch of integrity, it is a heartening moment that support pillars like Sheeba Chadha get recognition for their reliability. When Sheeba aslawyer Bela Jain rises to speak on behalf of Shazia, there’s a palpable cheer from the audience. Such is the power of our supporting actors whose reassuring presence gives the viewer the sense that this will be a feisty fight.

There is an unasked question at the end: is Haq a cinematic signal in favour of a Uniform Civil Code?You can take sides on that one.

Watch it or not? It’s a definite “go and check it out” for the gender justice it delivers while telling a good story.

HAQ Movie Review Score Rating: 3.5 out of 5 (i.e. 3.5/5)

HAQ Official Trailer: