Movie Review: Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway

You’re immediately tormented by an agony-filled episode of an Indian family living abroad whose mother is a brilliant emotion-portrayer in Rani Mukerji. Post taking us through the opening montage of the colourful aura of Norway, we’re immediately dropped amidst a tension-filled scene of Debika Chatterjee (Rani Mukerji) running for her life to save her toddlers from the Norwegian Child Welfare Services.

Director Ashima Chibber, along with Sameer Satija & Rahul Handa, adapts the story from the book The Journey Of A Mother, an autobiography of Sagarika Chakraborty, on whose life the story is based. The script beautifully carries out the task of emoting a mother’s pain, relying heavily on an astounding performance by Rani Mukerji. Yes, it gets monotonous by the early second half, but that’s where the tables are turned, infusing a well-drafted courtroom drama.

Rani Mukerji is amazing and natural a natural can get; even when loud, Rani doesn’t cross the set decibel limit of excruciating your emotional self.

Anirban Bhattacharya delivers an all-controlled performance understanding the assignment of being a shady husband to a loving wife. As it’s adapted from a real-life story, one can’t complain about being gender-neutral. Jim Sarbh’s character as an Indian Norwegian lawyer builds intrigue retaining the viewers’ attention. The perfect way of showcasing subtlety helps him to be on both sides of the fence, evoking curiosity throughout the film.

A special mention for Balaji Gauri, who plays the Bengali Lawyer in the second half; her performance turns the table, saving the story from getting repetitive.

Ashima Chibber does everything to depict the pain of a mother as she narrates the story from her perspective. I’m not exactly aware of the actual case, but the book’s tagline reads ‘the diplomatic war between India & Norway’, where the film starts to weaken. That side of the story (if any) remains completely unexplored, and I would’ve loved to see that. Yes, the courtroom drama depicts a specific portion of the diplomatic war between the two countries, but I somewhat expected it to be more detailed.

Cinematographer Alvar Kõue, who has been in (fun fact!) the camera and electrical department of Christopher Nolan’s Tenet, handles the gloomy camerawork. Keeping things cloudy builds up the right mood for the narrative to display the number of emotions it does. The delightful balance of how a high-voltage dramatic scene could end on a joke showcases Chibber’s skills in treating such a sensitive subject.

Editor Namrata Rao, who has applied scissors on films like Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!, Ishqiya, Band Baaja Baaraat & Kahaani remains salient hero of the film. Because the film tends to drop at more than one place, but it’s edited and presented in a way that it’s hard to get bored of what you’re watching.

All said and done, in the spectrum of displaying mothers’ pain in cinema, this one would continue to ache for a long time owing to Rani Mukerji’s earnest presence in the film.