The film sheds no light whatsoever on the role of communist parties and organisations in India in fighting the Triple Talaq, and even opposing the so-called reversal of Shah Bano judgment. It ends the movie with text falsely claiming that after the Shah Bano judgment, the then Central Government reversed it, and it is only the BJP which rescued Muslim women after Modi by passing a law.
It makes no mention of how it was the Supreme Court of India which said Triple Talaq is null and void before the BJP passed a law criminalising it. Muslim husbands are now the only men in India for who abandoning a spouse is a non-bailable criminal offence.
It doesn’t tell you that in 2001, the Supreme Court described the law passed by the Rajiv Gandhi government in the following words: “Though it may look ironical, the enactment [Muslim Women Act] intended to reverse the decision in Shah Bano’s case actually codifies the very rationale contained therein”. It doesn’t tell you that the act found a way to grant Muslim women maintenance.
Now, someone could turn around and fairly defend the charge of insidious bigotry with the shield of creative freedom. Fair enough. They have no aspiration of creating a world as complex, complete, and layered as Paul Thomas Anderson’s recent One Battle After Another, which takes a battering ram to all sides of the political spectrum.
Our intention was to make a fair, dignified film they may argue. They may call it “balanced,” like Emraan Hashmi did in an interview. Sure. Yami Gautam, who plays the protagonist, was also in Article 370 and Uri. Her spouse, Aditya Dhar, wrote and directed Uri, wrote and produced Article 370, wrote and produced Baramulla, which has been described by critic Rahul Desai as the most creative cultural propaganda film he has seen. I don’t think he has seen Haq yet. Aditya Dhar has also produced, written and directed the upcoming Dhurandhar.
In an interview given by Javed Akhtar to a news channel many years back, he mentioned going to some conference where he said that Osama Bin Laden’s photo was hanging on the wall. He asked the organisers, why is this terrorist’s picture here? They responded by saying no allegations against Laden have been proved, how can someone be declared guilty without a trial etc. Long story short, Akhtar responded by saying that it is because you believe he has done acts of terror that his picture is hanging here. Otherwise there is no reason to hang it.
The film opens by thanking Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and the two deputy CMs of Uttar Pradesh, all of who are known for preaching the message, “Islam is a great religion and it must be studied.” It also thanks Navika Kumar, who is an indefatigable warrior of inter-faith harmony. Constitutional scholar Amit Malviya was also full of praise for the film.
(The author is a lawyer and research consultant based in Mumbai. This is an opinion piece, and the views expressed are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for them.)
