With the March 17 release of her newest movie, “Mrs. Chatterjee vs. Norway,” Rani Mukherjee makes a triumphant comeback to the big screen. The movie’s trailer, which was released on February 23 and has garnered a lot of excitement, is based on the true tale of an Indian mom who defied the Norwegian government in order to reconnect with her children.
A brief about Rani Mukherjee’s latest movie ‘Mrs. Chatterjee vs. Norway’ by based on a true story
Let’s look at the Mrs. Chatterjee vs. Norway movie’s full narrative.
Geophysicist Anurup Bhattacharya and Sagarika Chakraborty emigrated to Norway in 2007. The couple’s first kid, Abhigyaan, was born to Sagarika a year later, and he or she rapidly had autistic traits. As a result, Abhigyaan was placed in a family kindergarten in 2010 where he would receive specialised care, especially since Sagarika was now expecting her second child, Aishwarya, at the time.
Aishwarya and Abhigyaan were taken from their parents in 2011 by the Norwegian Child Welfare Services, known as the Barnevernet (literally, “child protection”), to be maintained in a foster home until they became 18 years old. According to Barnevernet, the pair had been “under observation” for several months due to their “improper parenting.”
The couple was accused of sharing a bed with their children, hand-feeding their kids—which Norwegian police viewed as force feeding—and using corporal punishment (Sagarika had allegedly slapped the children once). While these actions may appear “natural” in the Indian setting, they were anything but for the Norwegian authorities.
It should be noted that Norway has very rigorous regulations governing children and their upbringing, and these laws are applied everywhere, regardless of cultural variations.
The custody battle that ensued lasted for more than a year, during which Norwegian officials alleged that Sagarika was “mentally unfit” to raise her children. Sagarika was in her late 20s at the time, and the authorities used the fact that she was not well-organized and punctual against her.
The Norwegian and Indian media quickly became interested in this topic, with many of them being very critical of Barnevernet’s activities. Some even called it a “state sponsored kidnapping.” The problem was that Barnevernet not only looked to lack cultural understanding of Indian parenting, but they also seemed to be assaulting the mother personally to support their own position.
Human Rights Alert Norway’s Berit Aarset commented on the case, saying: “This is not the first time such a thing is happening in Norway… the legal system favours the Child Welfare Services and they do what they want all the time… in almost every case they say one of the parents has a mental problem just to make their case strong.” Berit Aarset has frequently spoken about the impunity with which Barnevernet acts.
As media attention grew, diplomatic pressure increased. The children’s custody would be given to a paternal uncle back in India, the 27-year-old dentist Arunabhas Bhattacharya, after lengthy discussions. This decision was made when External Affairs Minister SM Krishna met with his Norwegian colleague in Oslo to seek a compromise on the situation.
In April 2012, the Norwegian Child Welfare Services turned the two kids over to their uncle and grandfather in Kulti, West Bengal, which is close to Asansol. Even though this was a positive development, the custody dispute had not yet been resolved. The marriage of Sagarika and Anurup had suffered as a result of the draining argument with the Norwegian authorities. Sagarika now had to battle for the two kids’ custody in India.
She requested custody of her kids from the Burdwan Child Welfare Committee. Despite the fact that this committee found in Sagarika’s favour, the police did not enforce their decision, leaving the kids in the care of their uncle and grandfather. Sagarika contacted the Calcutta High Court in December 2012.
In a decision made in January 2013, Justice Dipankar Dutta decided that Sagarika should be granted custody of the two kids while maintaining visitation rights for their uncle and grandfather. “The uncle and grandfather should find it difficult, but they should accept it for the greater good. As required, they had cared for the kids, according to Dutta.
“The Journey Of A Mother,” Sagarika Chakraborty’s autobiography, was released in 2022. Based on this book, the upcoming Rani Mukherjee movie will feature Rani as Sagarika.
