Emraan Hashmi on 'Haq': 'I Am An Actor, But I Am Also A Muslim. That Perspective Was Something I Had To Bring'
The actor on bringing his own faith into a story that doesn’t take sides.
In Haq, Emraan Hashmi plays Abbas, a lawyer whose marriage to Shazia Bano, played by Yami Gautam, spirals into a courtroom battle that turns personal faith into public debate. Loosely inspired by the real-life Shah Bano case, the film begins as a love story and transforms into a mirror of how belief, identity, and justice collide in today’s India. It’s the kind of story, Hashmi says, that doesn’t flinch from discomfort.
“There’s a lot of censorship at the script stage these days,” he says. “Everyone is scared of saying the truth because they don’t want to offend people. And that’s the death of creativity.”
Talking about Haq, he admits that stories like this are “few and far between” because of that fear. “This film is asking very pertinent questions —about women’s voices, the power of truth, the resilience of the human spirit, and people’s personal faith. It’s tricky, but it’s honest.”
That honesty, he says, is what drew him to the project. “When I read the script, I saw a certain neutrality in how it was written,” he explains. “It’s almost like placing a camera inside the homes of these two people — seeing their love turn rocky, leading to a clash that becomes national news. There was no agenda, just truth.”
For Hashmi, Haq wasn’t just another role. “See, I’m an actor, but I’m also a Muslim,” he says. “That perspective was something I had to bring into this. When I saw how fairly it handled faith, I knew I wanted to be a part of it.” He adds, “There was a certain honesty in how it looked at faith. It didn’t villainise anyone. It just showed how people hold on to their beliefs, even when everything else is falling apart.”
While Haq tackles complex themes, Hashmi insists it’s not just a film about ideas. “It’s deeply emotional. It’s about two individuals who were in love. It’ll hit you hard, even in the courtroom scenes,” he says. “You might think this man is a demon, but you also see a humane side to him. And that’s what I love about it.”