Former Miss Universe India-supermodel Vartika Singh is set to make her Bollywood debut with the upcoming courtroom thriller “Haq” starring Emraan Hashmi and Yami Gautam. Directed by Suparn Varma, the film is produced by Junglee Pictures.
“Haq” will have Vartika play a woman who is unpredictable and emotionally exacting. Varma, known for The Family Man and Rana Naidu, calls her performance “controlled fire.” To prepare, the former beauty queen trained with dialect coaches and worked through improvisation-based workshops to understand her character’s silences, what Varma calls “the quiet machinery of guilt.”
Set against the backdrop of a controversial legal battle, Haq brings Emraan and Yami opposite each other in a case that collides with Singh’s character in ways neither expects. Based on Jigna Vora’s book “Bano: Bharat ki Beti,” Haq offers a fictionalised account of the events surrounding the Shah Bano case, a landmark issue that stirred public discourse decades ago and remains relevant in contemporary times.
When asked about the reactions to “Haq,” Vora said: “I’m sure it will connect deeply with people. The teaser has already been released, and it looks quite impactful. The film has an intense courtroom drama setting, and knowing the way I’ve written it, I’m confident that actors like Yami Gautam and Emraan Hashmi have done justice to their roles.”
Is any part of her book personally inspired? The former journalist said: “Yes. The central character, Shah Bano, was an incredibly strong woman. She was divorced in her late sixties and still had the courage to fight for her rights first in the Madhya Pradesh High Court and then in the Supreme Court.
Her journey wasn’t easy. I tried to capture her emotional turmoil and strength in my writing, hoping to justify her story.” Backed by Junglee Pictures, in association with Insomnia Films and Baweja Studios, Haq releases on November 7.