Yogesh Mishra | yogesh@bollywoodtown.in
When a film strikes the heart of a nation, you know it’s more than cinema. A story rooted in truth, pulsing with emotion, and propelled by courage, it has opened conversations India had ignored for decades. The film’s success isn’t just commercial, it’s cultural. As audiences pour into theatres and critics call it the year’s most necessary film, Bollytown sits down with the man at the centre of this storm. a filmmaker unafraid to push boundaries, challenge narratives, and hold up a mirror to society. Ladies & Gentlemen, presenting Suparn Verma!!
How did the story of Haq first reach you?
After ‘Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai’ I was researching for my next film as to what to do next and the story of Shah bano, has always kind of resonated with me, her life story, her struggle and one point of time we decided that let’s research this landmark judgement because that set the precedent for the world that we are in today and the modern day times, and as we researched more, i kind of started thinking and talking to my writer Reshu Nath that let’s start it.. and start an examination of a marriage. A relationship between a man and a woman and play that out and use the judgement and base it around the judgement and use the many lives of women as inspiration to set our world to create our world and our story. And that is how the journey began. Which led to the creation of Shazia bano and Abbas Khan.”
Why did our country take nearly 50 years to make a film on such a pertinent and pressing subject?
I don’t know maybe because the story was waiting for the right time for the right maker and I was lucky enough to be present at the right place at the right time. At the right moment in time to kind of make HAQ because Haq I think is a legacy film. It’s a film that’s gonna be remembered in cinema for a while. And I am so glad that I had the best team, the best cast to be able to tell the story in the best way possible. And the kind of support system The reception that has enjoyed and the life. It’s gonna enjoy cinematically. I think everything happens at the right time. And there is no way you can rush things. I think our job as makers is to be present, to be ready so that when the right opportunity presents itself, we are at the best of our abilities doing justice to the stories that life gives us
How would you describe Haq as a film?
For me, Haq is many things. It’s a story of women’s right to dignity. its abt self respect. It’s a story of a man and a woman both with their belief systems, fighting each other. At a time, certain things were normalised in society. And that led to a judgement that kind of changed the direction of a nation. It is about love, it’s about loss, it’s about dignity. In the end, it’s about standing up for what you believe in and your convictions. And the price one pays.
With the super success of Haq, what’s next for Suparn Verma?
Honestly, I am a genre agnostic filmmaker. I don’t want to be bound by any one genre or one kind of storytelling. I love exploring all kinds of stories, all languages, and that’s what I plan to do next as well. Explore, explore really far and wide & see where the net has been cast and what it draws in.
