“Human rights may be defined as those rights which are inherent in human beings. They cannot live as human beings without these rights…The dedicated Civil Society, committed Law Enforcing Agencies, Media and proactive Judiciary should substantially help in protecting the human rights”. (Human rights. In: P. H. Parekh (ed.), Human Rights Year Book 2015–16. Commitment and Practice (vol. 27). International Institute of Human Rights Study (Regd.). Universal Law Publishing, LexisNexis.) (Justice M. Karpagavinayagam, Former Chief Justice of Jharkhand High Court). In a democratic society, these agencies should work in unison to protect human rights; but they seldom do that. Shahid (2012) and Aligarh (2015)—the two quasi-biographical Hindi films by Hansal Mehta explore the ruptures involved in the process. Shahid deals with the sensitive area of terrorism; the rights of the accused; the draconian powers enjoyed by the state. Aligarh deals with the tragic victimization of an academician due to his sexual preferences by an eminent university, which is expected to enhance the liberal values of society. Intrusion into privacy; institutional nurturing of antiquated morality and majoritarianism; trial by media are the issues involved in this case. These films courageously challenge the populist views and depict the violation of human rights through a humane, non-rhetorical, and realistic approach.