Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway review
When a film’s story centres around a mother’s relentless fight to reunite with her children
When a film’s story centres around a mother’s relentless fight to reunite with her children, it is bound to pull at heartstrings. Filmmaker Ashima Chiobber’s film Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway stars Rani Mukerji as Debika Chatterjee who is separated from her two young children by the Norway Children’s Welfare Program on the pretext of bad parenting. Based on a real-life incident that took place in 2011 and led to a diplomatic row between India and Norway, Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway boasts of great writing and performances but is still not an easy watch. It tears you up ever so often and even makes you wonder about the what-ifs.
The actual incident that took place in 2011 shook India as most followed the case of Indian couple Sagarika Bhattacharya and Anup Bhattarcharya’s ordeal with Barnevernet, the Norwegian Child Welfare Services who had forcefully taken away their children on the pretext of improper parenting. The couple was accused of making their children sleep on their beds, feeding them with their hands, and applying kohl. The father was accused of not helping his wife with household chores and the mother was called mentally unstable. The harrowing incident was widely reported by the Indian media and led to a diplomatic row between India and Norway over cultural differences.
Since the story of Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway is known to many, there it was a bigger challenge to make the film engaging for the audience. Written by Chibber along with Rahul Handa and Sameer Satija, the film gets the mood right- which is of despair, uncertainty and anxiousness. Debika and her husband Anirudh (Anirban Bhattacharya) run pillar to post to get back their children from the Norwegian authorities but are hit by roadblocks one after the other. It doesn’t help that there are cracks in their relationship already. Anirudh is shown as an ambitious man, who does not want to anger or challenge the Norway government in order to secure citizenship in the country. He is also a misogynist who does not believe in helping the wife at home at any given time and is mostly driven by his ambition to excel at work.
Debika on the other hand manages the household and two young children. Her son, the authorities suspect, has autism and she is still feeding her five-month-old daughter. The separation hits her more and she ends up behaving out of line on many court appearances, which in turn cements the Norweigein authorities’ claim about her mental instability and thereby hampering her chances of reuniting with her children.
The writers should be given credit where is due. They get emotions right- you do end up sympathising with the mother and her deep pain for being separated from her children. Chibber also sets up a typical Bengali household well. The conversations- especially between Mukerji and Bhattacharya are similar to how Bengali couples speak or argue. The emotions are all there. At one time, Rani can be heard arguing about how one feeds the child macher jhol-bhaat (fish curry and rice ) with a fork- a dish that is a staple in every Bengali household. The food that the children are fed, or the families eat, and the reactions of the characters in the middle of arguments are all very accurate to a common Bengali family. That way the film is consistent in creating the right environment.
What is inconsistent- is Rani Mukerji’s accented Hindi, which she tries very consciously to speak badly because of her character’s background. It is conflicting for the actor clearly because there are moments where she forgets her character and speaks effortless Hindi but then goes back to an uneven version of the language. Rani Mukerji also hams through her part of Debika. Yes, she is an anguished mother and some of the scenes are so powerful that Rani is able to project the pain of her character well, but she ever so often crosses that thin line of emotional to melodrama. And while we are supposed to deeply feel for her character and the pain she is going through, we end up squirming at her over-the-top act. That being said, Rani still holds her own in a film that rests on her shoulder.
The other actors are splendid. Well known Bengali actor Anirban Bhattacharya makes his Bollywood debut in this film as the slightly cold, manipulative and self-centred Mr Chatterjee who is only concerned about securing citizenship in Norway. Bhattacharya is known for his well-rounded performances in various Bengali films and in Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway, he excels as Anirudh- so much so that you end up disliking him. The other actor who delivers a fine performance is Jim Sarbh as Norweigien lawyer Daniel Singh Ciupek – a man who is misconstrued as someone who is not sympathetic towards the Chatterjees in the beginning but is actually an ally. Sarbh delivers a restrained but confident performance. The courtroom scenes between him and actress Balaji Gauri, who plays Rani’s lawyer are the best scenes in the film- which are well executed by the two actors making them the most defining moments of the narrative.
The casting is accurate. A lot of well-known Bengali actors play supporting roles with absolute ease in teh film. There is Barun Chanda, Bodhisatva Majumdar, Mithu Chakraborty and Saswati Guhathakurta playing their limited roles well. Neena Gupta has a brief cameo- as a politician modelled around the late Sushma Swaraj- who plays a catalyst in the case.
The film has an uneven pace. The first half when Anirban and Rani are trying to get back their children, where Rani’s hysterics are on full display, seems a bit jarring after a point. You want to feel their emotions but because of the melodrama and Rani playing for the gallery- it doesn’t translate well for the audience. The pace picks up in the second half, especially in the last hour when the story moves to India. Sarbh gets to display his acting prowess in the courtroom scenes well and shines in them.
In the end Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway is slightly uneven. But it is the story that is the biggest winner of this heart-wrenching story. Sure, there is melodrama, but the film’s core story is such that it keeps you hooked. After all, a mother’s love for her children is well known yet it makes for a heartwarming story every single time.