- Posted by Filmi Beat, last updated on 17 March, 2023

Story

Debika (Rani Mukerji) is a housewife juggling motherhood and her life in Norway. Her husband Anirudh (Anirban Bhattacharya) adopts the Norwegian language and mannerisms, but Debika maintains her Indian roots. She barely talks in broken English. Their lives change when their children are suddenly taken away by the Norwegian Child Welfare Services as they deem the couple unfit to raise their own children. The Norwegian government pressures them to put the children in foster care. The reason is said that the couple does not have an emotional connection with the children.. They feed the children with their hands and make them sleep together. The final decision was given that both the children will remain in foster care till the age of 18 years. Thereafter, how Debika fights the local government to get her kids back, exposes their scam.. rest of the story revolves around this. In this struggle, his old relationships also break, but after getting the children, he gets both his respect and self-confidence.

acting

When a strong actress like Rani Mukherjee comes on screen, the expectation also increases. Rani is fabulous in the character of Mrs. Chatterjee, but the writing of her character lacks a subtlety. His silence in the second half of the film impresses you more and gives more chance to understand the feelings. Rani gradually becomes Sagarika Chakraborty. At the same time, Anirban Bhattacharya gives him the best support. He has been successful in hating his character. Jim Sarbh brings some of the best moments in the film. He plays an Indian-origin lawyer in Norway and adds height to the film. Hence, leading up to the climax, you want to see more of them. Balaji Gowri, who plays Mrs. Chatterjee’s lawyer in the film, has a notable cameo.

Directing

As emotionally strong as the story of the film is, somewhere it is not able to give that level of intensity on the screen. The film starts strong, then runs flat in the middle, but picks up again by the time it reaches the climax. There are many scenes which will make you emotional as well as make your heart heavy. The story of a mother being taken away from her children will leave you heartbroken. At the same time, some courtroom scenes are also effective. Along with this, the skill with which the director can taunt patriarchy, touches the subject like domestic violence, is commendable. However, the story of the film needed a bit more tying. The film raises some questions in the beginning, but is unable to answer them precisely.

technical side

Since the story revolves around a Bengali couple, the film’s dialogues are almost in Bengali, which may become a hindrance for the general audience. Although there are subtitles in Hindi and English. The cinematography of the film is done by Alvar Kaoue, which is quite impressive. Be it Norway scenes or Kolkata or court scenes, they have made the story strong. Namrata Rao’s editing is good but could have been tightened a bit, especially in the second half. The background score of the film is superb.

music

The music of this film is composed by Amit Trivedi. While the lyrics of the song are penned by Kausar Munir. There are three songs in the film, but the special thing is that all three songs play in the background along with the story. The lyrics of the song make you emotional, but are not remembered for long.

rating

‘Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway’ is based on a real incident and that is what hits your emotions the most while watching the movie. You will be able to feel the distance between a mother and child in such a way that it will make your heart flutter. Although a strong first half could have lifted it further. However, for Rani Mukherjee’s strong acting, you must watch this film. 3 stars to Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway from Filmbeat.