Mrs Chatterjee V Norway could have been a very moving story, but overall, the story needed more power.
Having said that Rani Mukerji gives a sterling performance, agreeably as Shahrukh Khan himself says, she shines as the central character of the film and every frame she is in, she steals the show.
Directed by Ashima Chibber (Mere Dad Ki Maruti), Mrs Chatterjee vs. Norway is based on the true story of Sagarika Chakraborty, an Indian woman in Norway whose two young children were taken away by the country’s child protection service claiming that was she an unfit mother. Chakraborty wrote about her ordeal in The Journey Of A Mother, which has been adapted into a script by Chibber, Sameer Satija and Rahul Handa.
Rani Mukerji plays Debika Chatterjee, who is married to Anirudh played by Anirban Bhattacharya, who is an oil rig engineer and they live together with their two children Suchi and Shubh in Stavanger.
The heart of the film lies in the story, but it loses its power thanks to the execution. Needless to say, there are some very moving scenes and some of the performances do help make this a watchable film.
Rani is exceptional when it comes to emotional scenes, which if not a tear will certainly leave a lump in your throat. However, there are parts where her character doesn’t make sense, such as speaking broken English when she holds a degree in science. And despite living in Norway for years, doesn’t speak a word of the local language, not even a basic greeting. Her husband played by Anirban, also manages to pull in a decent performance, but is overshadowed by Rani.
Norway based Indian lawyer, Daniel Singh Ciupek played by Jim Sarbh is Debika’s second legal representation in her children’s case. He has a limited but a crucial and impactful role, which leaves its mark. However, his earlier court battle scenes are lack lustre compared to the end when the case lands in Indian courts and Debika has a new counsel in Kolkata played by Balaji Gauri. Balaji is exceptional in the court battle scenes between her Norway’s representative Ciupek. The duo take the film into the much needed fifth gear. It’s just a shame this didn’t come sooner. In fact, I would say the exchange of words between Gauri and Sarbh are the high point of the film, and both deliver applaud worth lines. The question is will audiences be patient enough to wait till the end for some excitement? I say go watch the film at least for Rani and for the inspiring Sagarika
