Halal trailer: What if a man wants to marry the woman he divorced?

The first teaser of director Shivaji Lotan Patil’s Halal gave an idea that the film is about the practice of instant triple talaq (divorce). But the film’s trailer, which was released today, 15 September, shows that the film mainly deals with the sensitive and controversial topic of halala.

Halala is an islamic practice related to the remarriage of a woman to her ex-husband. When a man wishes to remarry his ex-wife, whom he had divorced, it is mandatory for the ex-wife to first marry another man, consummate the marriage and get a divorce, before remarrying her ex-husband.

In Halal, Priyadarshan Jadhav’s character divorces his wife (Pritam Kagne) through the triple talaq. But later on, the man decides to remarry her. When their families consult their maulana (priest), played by Chinmay Mandlekar, he says that the only way for them to marry again is through halala. It is decided that the girl be married to the maulana for a short duration, after which he would divorce her, making her eligible to marry her first husband again.

The film also looks at the extreme patriarchy practised in society, even today. This is indicated through a couple of dialogues, for example, whe the girl’s father says that a woman can have no say even in matters as important as her marriage, because she wouldn’t understand.

The topic is explored for the first time in Marathi cinema and the trailer holds a lot of promise.

Patil has previously directed Chandrabhaga (2017), 31st October (2016) and won the National Award for Best Director for Dhag (2014).

Halal is set to be released on 6 October, previously it was announced to hit the screens on 29 September.

• By Keyur Seta