Why 'Haq' Resonated Across the Border: A Pakistani Woman on its Netflix Success

'Haq' not only became the most watched movie on Netflix, but a topic of discussion among women in Pakistan.

The Indian film 'Haq' has provided an opportunity to begin a discussion that affects a large number of women.

(Photo: Vibhushita Singh/The Quint)

It is rare to see a woman challenging the system.

Those who stand up against societal pressure to change the status quo are frightening, and if it’s a woman, even more so. Society seems to fear that her voice will pierce the webs of patriarchy that have held her back. However, once unleashed, a woman’s voice pierces these barriers, generating traction and power, threatening the very social infrastructure constructed over centuries by patriarchy and misogyny.

Seldom do women get a chance to speak up about the issues they face, let alone converge across borders, nationalities, and religions. The Indian film Haq has provided an opportunity to begin a discussion that affects a large number of women.

A Film That Transcends Borders

Although this film is focussed on Islamic marriage laws and divorce inspired by some real-life cases in India, the issue transcends borders, nationalities, cultures, and even religion. This is a gender issue which may manifest in different ways in different countries, but the gist is the same suppression of human rights of a section of society—women in this case— based on their gender.

Haq is a glamourless, simple story which has piqued interest and begun a much-needed conversation about human rights and the usurping of the same. It unsurprisingly became the most watched movie on Netflix Pakistan—and a topic of discussion among women in Pakistan, with demands that gender issues should constitute a larger portion of content produced.

People are tired of only watching glamorous, unrealistic plots that revolve around a damsel in distress, victims, cruel in-laws and villains, and the handsome prince coming to save the day.

There is still a huge audience for this content, as we see with the popularity of K-Drama. But the success of serious, real-life-inspired films like Haq is probably because they touch the dormant yet innate emotions that seldom get mentioned. 

The Relatibility of 'Haq' Among Women

The story of Haq revolves around an Indian Muslim woman fighting for her haq (right) when she is disenfranchised in her marriage. Her loving husband decides to take on another wife, taking an emotional toll on her with his increasing indifference to her. 

The film aptly shows the insignificance of a woman and her feelings, especially pitched against her husband. Millions of women probably relate to this situation as they silently fight their own battles, trying to exist in a patriarchal system. 

Shazia Bano, played brilliantly by Yami Gautam Dhar, is a simple yet vocal wife of a young and rising lawyer, Mohammad Abbas Khan (Emraan Hashmi). Bano’s strong and vocal character goes through many emotional transitions as Khan, her husband, and her marriage change. Initially, we see an endearing husband supporting his wife’s right to stand up to a neighbour, empowering her, and giving her a piece of land to call her own.

Interestingly, the same small plot of land gives Bano stability despite the storm in her life, from which she continues to fight her battle. 

We cannot overlook how Hashmi understood the assignment, as they say, in portraying an emotionless privileged man, using his elevated position in a patriarchal system against a woman. His character is seen publicly humiliating his former wife in court in several scenes, oblivious that he is mistreating the woman who was once his ‘honour’. 

Bano signifies a woman’s vulnerability in a society which is remorselessly depriving her of her identity and dignity. Her story mirrors the frustration and struggle of numerous others whose lives shatter around them as they are stripped of their identity and dignity and forced to exist.

Bano does not let her failures snatch away the fire within her. She was resolute in her stance despite not being as literate or worldly as her opponent, but she somehow knew no one could take away her basic human rights and continued fighting.

Why Pakistani Women Embraced the Film

Pakistani women recognise the issues Bano faces in the film—patriarchy, misogyny, rejection in marriage, a single parent fighting for alimony, and a woman’s weak social position—as what they or someone they know endure.

Content is generally not produced keeping serious gender issues in mind, as it is not commercially viable. Producers believe the audience wants entertainment over issues that are closer to life. This may be true, but it does not mean that the audience does not want serious, in-depth, and well-written content focused on real issues either.

Bollywood and Indian dramas used to mostly focus on glamour, sex and romance, which was imitated by the Pakistani media in the 2000s. Earlier, Pakistani content used to be more issue-driven, with a moral and a message.

With the rise of Indian content full of decked-up beautiful women, exaggerated family drama, and so-called women-centric content coming in through satellite dishes in the 1990s, Pakistani media began losing viewers. Producers and writers began churning out senseless, shallow content, focusing more on the wardrobe and glamour than the story. 

This continued until the internet disruption gave the viewer more control over the content consumed, and the mood began to change. More and more people wanted to watch solid stories that delivered more than just good-looking faces riddled in needless and endless family intrigue.

And then, Pakistani media began producing better content that focused on real gender issues—like Zindagi Gulzar Hai (gender bias) in 2012; Udaari (sexual abuse) and Khuda Mera Bhi Hai (transgender individuals) in 2016; Baaghi (honour killings) and Sammi (forced marriage) in 2017; Sinf-e-Aahan (female agency) in 2022; and Mayi Ri (child marriage), Sar-e-Raha (challenging stereotypes), Razia (women's education), and Guru in 2023. And, most recently, Case No. 9 (a courtroom drama for women's rights).

Despite this, it is true that the percentage of gender-sensitive content produced is still quite low. There is still a need to highlight serious gender issues with an emphasis on gender-specific laws and rights that can empower women to stand up for themselves, as well as for the society to accept them as individuals.

Writers should be encouraged to write more such scripts without worrying about the commercial aspect. Haq’s success on Netflix should be an eye-opener for what viewers want to watch, instead of forcing shallow but glamorous content on screens.

OTT then might be the game changer on which gender content can be shared. Content creation can build regional collaborations to produce better issue-centric content that could not only help find solutions, but also begin a global gender movement.

(Lubna Jerar Naqvi is a senior journalist in Pakistan. This is an opinion article and the views expressed are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for them.)