Yami Gautam and Emraan Hashmi to bring Shah Bano's battle to the big screen

Actors Yami Gautam and Emraan Hashmi have successfully wrapped up filming their upcoming historical judgement inspired by one of India's most pivotal legal battles, the 1985 Shah Bano case. In this much-anticipated film, Yami steps into the shoes of Shah Bano, while Emraan portrays a character inspired by her former husband, Ahmed Khan. The movie aims to shed light on a landmark case that stirred national debate on gender rights, religious personal laws, and constitutional justice.


The case that shook the nation
The Shah Bano case originated in 1978, when 62-year-old Shah Bano filed a plea in Indore seeking maintenance from her husband, Mohammed Ahmad Khan, a respected lawyer who had divorced her after four decades of marriage and five children. Shah Bano invoked Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), 1973, a secular provision that mandates maintenance for a divorced woman who is unable to sustain herself.
However, her husband contested the claim, citing Muslim Personal Law, which states a man is only obligated to support his wife during the iddat period, roughly three months post-divorce. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board backed Khan’s argument, contending that religious laws must be upheld without interference from the secular judiciary.


The landmark supreme court ruling
The matter escalated to the Supreme Court, where then Chief Justice Y.V. Chandrachud upheld Shah Bano’s right to maintenance under the CrPC, affirming the High Court’s decision. The Court even increased the maintenance amount. The verdict was hailed for reinforcing the supremacy of constitutional law over personal religious codes when it comes to individual rights.


A call for uniform civil code
The case reignited the national conversation around gender equality, secularism, and the Uniform Civil Code (UCC). The ruling emphasized that personal laws should not override fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution, especially in a democratic and secular state.

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