‘Humare Barah’ Review: This film talks less about women empowerment and more about saying ‘Allah-hu-Akbar’ again and again without any reason

‘Humare Barah’, which has been in controversy for a long time, has finally got the green signal to reach the theatres. After changes in three dialogues, the film is now ready for the audience. The film claims to deal with issues like women empowerment and population control, but the way the director has taken the help of a particular community to point out these issues dilutes the seriousness of the issues.

The story of ‘Humare Twelve’

The story begins with a young girl Alfia (Aditi Bhatpahari) knocking on the door of the court. Alfia files a case against her father Khan Sahab (Annu Kapoor) in the court and demands abortion for her mother. Actually, Khan Sahab, a 60-year-old fundamentalist Muslim, is a well-known Qawwal. he/she has very conservative views towards his/her family and the women of the house. There are 11 children in his/her family and now his/her second wife Rukhsar (Ishleen Prasad), who is half his/her age, is pregnant.

This pregnancy is very risky for Rukhsar. She may die during childbirth. The doctor says that Rukhsar should abort the child, but Khan Sahab believes that abortion is a sin in his/her religion. That is why he/she is against abortion. his/her first wife and Alfia’s mother also died during childbirth. Apart from Khan Sahab’s elder son Shahnawaz (Paritosh Tripathi), his/her entire family is against his/her dictatorial attitude, but they are afraid of him/her and cannot say anything. In such a situation, daughter Alfia approaches the court to save her mother’s life. Afreen Liaquat (Ashwini Kalsekar), the lawyer fighting this case on her behalf in the court, faces Khan Sahab’s lawyer Memon (Manoj Joshi). Is Alfia able to get justice for her mother in the court? This is the climax of the story.

Trailer of ‘Humare Twelve’

‘Humare Barah’ movie review

In his/her film, director Kamal Chandra raises the issue of a woman’s right to abortion, talks about population control, and leads to many social narrow-mindednesses, but the story seems to move in a different direction by taking the help of a particular community to point out these issues. The story, along with being dramatic, starts to seem illogical after a point. The slogan of ‘Allah-hu-Akbar’ in domestic conversations in the film is disturbing. The court has also got some dialogues muted.

The makers may claim that this film talks about women empowerment and population control and does not target any particular religion, but the characters and dialogues do not prove this. The first half of the film goes into establishing multiple members of the family and makes its point at the interval point, but the courtroom drama of the second half seems repetitive except for a few scenes. Throughout the film, Annu Kapoor has been portrayed as a villain who is determined to torture his/her family in every way in the name of religion. Such a character is not acceptable in today’s times. The music of the film has not been able to make an impact. There are many flaws in the screenplay.

Talking about acting, Annu Kapoor has always been a capable actor and here he/she has played the role of a person with a fundamentalist ideology very well. his/her dialogue delivery has been excellent. Among the many female characters of the film, Aditi Bhatpahari, who plays Alfia, has played her role in a subtle manner. Ashwini Kalsekar has been strong in the role of a lawyer, but Manoj Joshi has not been able to save his/her character from being dramatic. Paritosh Tripathi as Shahnawaz and Parth Samthan in the role of journalist Danish have done a good job, but other characters like Rukhsar (Ishleen Prasad) have not been developed properly.

Why watch- Even if you don’t watch this film, there is no harm.