Standing Up for Muslims in India's Courts "Shahid," a Hindi film directed by Hansal Mehta, is the story of a hero, though not in the typical Bollywood sense. Based on the life and death of Shahid Azmi, a Mumbai lawyer known for defending Muslims accused of terrorist acts, Mr. Mehta's movie is about one man's moral response to injustice. Shahid's education begins in 1992, when he's trapped outside during the anti-Muslim riots in what was then Bombay. These early scenes, shot close in with a hand-held camera that accentuates the chaos, set the film's tone: unblinking, human scale. We see a body on fire, staggering down the street, and Shahid (an unflashy Raj Kumar Yadav) running to reach home. That education continues in a training camp for Islamic militants, from which Shahid flees, and when he's a prisoner at Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai, where two older, wiser inmates (one played by the charismatic Kay Kay Menon) school him. The system, Mr. Menon's character tells Shahid, "takes time, but it works," a proposition that the film believes, even as it shows the ways it doesn't. As a lawyer Shahid fights corruption, exposing prejudice and trumped-up evidence. Mr. Mehta clearly relishes the courtroom atmosphere. These scenes, set in slightly shabby spaces with plastic chairs and rickety fans, have a quarrelsome pop. In one sharp bit, Shahid points out that a pristine map could hardly have been in the pocket of blood-soaked pants for two days, as the prosecution claims. Good point, the judge says. "Shahid" is not immune from the usual biopic problems. The second half, in particular, feels truncated and overstuffed as it deals with strains in Shahid's family life and a rush of court cases. Still, Mr. Mehta has done something difficult. He has made a film of conviction that's neither plodding nor preachy. Shahid Directed by Hansal Mehta; written by Sameer Gautam Singh; director of photography, Anuj Rakesh Dhawan; edited by Apurva Asrani; music by Karan Kulkarni; production design by Rahul Sarkar; produced by Ronnie Screwvala, Siddharth Roy Kapur, Anurag Kashyap and Sunil Bohra; released by UTV. In Hindi, with English subtitles. Running time: 1 hour 45 minutes. WITH: Raj Kumar Yadav (Shahid), Tigmanshu Dhulia (Maqbool Menon), Kay Kay Menon (War Saab), Prabal Panjabi (Omar Sheikh), Prabhleen Sandhu (Mariam) and Bajlinder Kaur (Ammi).