Bollywood director Suparn Verma has opened up about the extensive research that went into his film Haq, saying that he wanted it to serve as a voice of reason in an age of widespread misinformation about Islamic law.
Speaking on BBC Asian Network’s podcast, Verma said that his team spent nearly a year and a half studying Islamic law to address common misconceptions surrounding practices such as Haq Mehr and triple talaq.
“I have literally had Yami [Gautam] learn the Quran. She spent four months understanding the dialect. The way we are using the Quran, we are quoting the Quran, it’s all there. And that’s the reason I had to end the film with one single word. Iqra [Parh],” he said.
When asked whether he could have imagined the film resonating so deeply with real-life individuals, Verma said that the response has been overwhelming.
“Honestly, you hope for a wave of love. You never expect a tsunami of connection the way Haq has. There are so many misnomers when it comes to Islam. Today we live in the age of misinformation. Your world of Andrew Tate’s men and women who understand him, support him. It’s a warped world that we live in. Everybody has information. You don’t know whether it’s right or wrong. In that space, I wanted Haqq to be a voice of reason,” he said.
Verma added that his personal ties with the Muslim community drove his commitment to getting the details right.
“I have had Muslim friends my whole life. I owe it to my brethren as an Indian. We really deep dived. We spent almost a year and a half understanding Islamic law. When we talk about triple thalaq, I wanted to take away the misnomers. I wanted to understand Meher existed as a prenup for the women,” he said.
He also reflected on the film’s broader relevance.
“Somebody asks you, why did you make this film today? It’s 40 years old. And I’m like, what’s changed in 40 years for women? They lived in a man’s world then, they live in a man’s world now. They fight in the same glass ceiling, the same biases. Men have it different from women forever,” he said.
Set in 1967, Haq tells the story of Shazia Bano, a woman from Uttar Pradesh who falls in love with eminent lawyer Abbas Khan. When Abbas secretly marries another woman and their relationship deteriorates, Shazia takes her fight for justice to the Aligarh Sessions Court.
The film is based on the book Bano: Bharat Ki Beti by Jigna Vora and is inspired by true events. It stars Yami Gautam and Emraan Hashmi in the lead roles.
