A decade ago today, the case of a couple living in Norway got media attention across the country. According to the case, the Child Welfare Service of Norway, while taking the children of that couple in their custody, had accused the parents of not raising their children properly. When the children were forcibly taken away, a mother made such a noise that this case remained in discussion at the global level. Now the same case is being released on the silver screen as the film Mrs. Chatterjee vs Norway. Read this review to know how well this film meets the standards of the critics.
Story
The life of Sagarika Chatterjee (Rani Mukherjee), who has been living with her husband for the last four years in the Norwegian country, is in turmoil when her two young children are taken away by the Government’s Child Welfare Society. It is the allegation of the Welfare Society that Sagarika is unable to take care of her children, she is not mentally stable. On the other hand, a Norwegian couple adopts the children. Where Sagarika tries her best to get the custody of her children. What kind of trauma does Sagarika go through during this high profile case that lasted for almost four years. Do papads have to be rolled out to get back the custody of the children. Based on the true incident, what is the side of Sagarika in this case. To know all these in detail, you will have to head towards the theatre.
direction
Ashima Chhibber has taken over the direction. Through this film, Ashima has taken up the responsibility of representing an emotion which is universal. Stories like the emotion of ‘Maa’ and her struggle have always touched the hearts of the audience. But in this beautiful subject of Ashima, many shortcomings are visible at the level of execution. The weakest aspect of this film has been its screenplay. The story looks very loose at the level of writing. It appears as if the case hyped on social media has been brought on the screen without proper research. Especially due to the lack of work on the detailing of some characters, they look confused on the screen. Due to these shortcomings, despite being an emotional subject, the film does not touch your heart. Taking less time in the first half of this film of 2 hours 24 minutes, Sagarika’s backdrop has been stabilized. In the second half, the stretch of the story is clearly visible in some parts.
It may be that the women of the community have objections to Rani’s loud Bengali speaking or her dressing sense. Some dialogues and scenes in the second half are emotional, which will definitely bring tears to your eyes. Especially a scene where Rani gets angry and eats rice mixed with milk, definitely leaves an impact. This scene reminds of the scene of Shefali Shah eating chocolate during Dil Dhadakne Do. The similarity between these two scenes is that without saying anything, the helplessness, anger, frustration of a woman is shown in a subtle way. The speed with which Rani slaps in response to getting slapped by her husband, that scene is also quite natural. Apart from this, the scene of Rani breastfeeding her month-old daughter beautifully represents the mother’s care for the child even in a chaotic environment. Presenting the monologue spoken by Rani in the last scene as a helplessness while not keeping it too aggressive is commendable. Overall, Rani’s performance has been strong in this film, but in terms of direction, the film proves to be a little 19.
technical and music
The film looks visually beautiful on the silver screen. Cinematographer Alvar Kouè (Alvar Koy) has shown from Norway to Kolkata frame by frame on the screen. Editor Namrata on the editing table could have contributed to make the film a little more crisp. Some unwanted scenes could have been cut especially in the second half. The film runs on a thrilling pace, where the effect of background music is not that much understood. Amit Trivedi has definitely given his best contribution in music, but due to lack of proper promotion of songs, his impact is not visible among the audience. It is possible that in future the songs will make a place in your playlist.
acting
The title of the film itself proves that the entire weight of the film is on the shoulders of Rani Mukherjee. Rani has done complete justice to her character. He has captured the variation of emotion very well. Be it Bengali dialogues or her lifestyle, Rani does not look different from anywhere. After a few minutes of the Infact film, you will feel less Rani’s influence and more Mrs Chatterjee’s presence. Anirban Bhattacharya’s work as Rani’s husband has also been good. Neena Gupta makes her presence felt even for a short period of time. The way Jim Sarbh’s character took an impressive entry as a lawyer, his confusion is visible by the time he reaches the climax. Till the end, Jim seems unsuccessful in maintaining his influence.
see why
Mother’s emotion is universal. It is said that everything is full stop in front of the mother.. The true story of how far a mother can go for her children has been shown, it must be given a chance. On top of that Rani’s strong performance is icing on the cake. Rani’s fans will not be disappointed at all with her new avatar. It is a family film, so it can be enjoyed with the whole family. Yes, especially you can give a treat to your mother or children by showing this film in the weekend.