Yami Gautam on becoming Shazia Bano in 'HAQ': 'It's about understanding what it costs a woman to demand...'

For thirty-two straight days, Yami Gautam lived in the skin of Shazia Bano the woman at the heart of Junglee Pictures’ raved-about courtroom drama Haq. She became a face carrying the weight of a thousand unheard stories. In the film, Shazia is torn between faith, law, and the right to stand on her own feet and Yami plays her with a quiet, disarming force that comes from deep within.

In the BTS footage from Suparn Varma’s set, the process feels stripped to its rawest form. Yami walks onto the courtroom floor like an actor rehearsing lines, inhabiting the space of a witness returning to the stand. Between takes, she sits whispering arguments to herself. “It’s about understanding what it costs a woman to demand her haq,” says an insider.

Varma’s direction left her little room to hide. The set was built like a real courtroom; the camera lingered on every blink and hesitation. By the end of each day, Yami was drained mentally, emotionally, physically. A film designed for a two-month schedule wrapped ahead of time, driven by her precision and focus.

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For Yami Gautam, a star known for composure the role demanded she let herself shake, stutter, and break mid-sentence. She read case transcripts, watched real-life footage of women who fought similar battles, and trained with dialect coaches to perfect the cadence of a Lucknowi Urdu-speaking woman who has never been allowed to speak freely.

What ultimately shaped the performance was empathy. The result is a portrayal that burns with conviction yet aches with restraint the hallmark of great courtroom storytelling.

In _Haq_, Yami Gautam becomes the echo of every woman who’s ever had to prove that her truth deserves to be spoken aloud.

Produced by Junglee Pictures, Baweja Studios, and Insomnia Films, and directed by Suparn S Varma, _Haq_ starring Yami Gautam Dhar and Emraan Hashmi is now playing to packed theatres nationwide.