Mrs. Chatterjee Vs Norway – why it is a must watch at the moment
Mrs. Chatterjee versus Norway is a newly released movie in the theatres that has churned a lot of debates. While it is not uncommon for movies to generate debates pre and post release, this movie is generating debates regarding the parenting style Indians follow versus the Norwegian parenting style.
The central storyline of the movie revolves around an Indian immigrant woman who settles with her husband in Norway. The initial happy life of this Indian woman turns into a dungeon when her parents are forcibly taken away by the Norwegian government due to differences in the parental approaches between the two countries.
The most glaring aspect of this movie is the fight between the two countries regarding the factual realities shown in the movie.
While on one hand, Hans Jacob, the Norwegian government commented that this movie is a pure work of fiction and criticized it as a movie that projects various factual flaws, on the other hand, the lead actor of the Movie, Rani Mukherjee has a different take on this.
According to the actor, nothing in the movie is fiction. Each and every incident depicted in the movie has been the real-life experience of Mrs. Sagarika Bhattacharya, who married Anurup Bhattacharya and settled in Norway. The actor also emphasizes that the purpose of the movie is not to criticize any government but to demonstrate how a mother suffers when some people with power take advantage of a situation.
Even Mrs. Sagarika Bhattacharya, the mother whose real life experience central to the plot, has been constructed, also confirms that each and every incident depicted in the movie has happened to her in real life during her stay in Norway.
When inquired by the popular media channels, Mrs. Sagarika Bhattacharya replied that she allowed her the-then one year old son Abhigyan to sleep in the same bed with his father.
She also said that she would also hand-feed with her son Abhigyan and her the-then daughter Aishwarya, which is an everyday practice of Indian mothers.
She was also accused of not providing enough space as the living area for her kids in her Norwegian residence.
The movie projects the problems a mother has to face in Norway due to cultural differences in parenting where feeding by hand is normal in India but interpreted as forceful feeding in Norway.
Matters went out of hand when Sagarika slapped her son once as a reprimand for some mischief like any ordinary Indian mother and the members of Norwegian Child Welfare Services landed on her doorstep. They forcibly took custody of both her children and put them in the foster care home by accusing her of irresponsible parenting and child abuse.
Here also the problem of cultural differences surfaces - while slapping is a way of disciplining a mischievous kid in India, Norwegian law understands it as an illegal form of physical harm to children.
Sagarika even claimed that it was not possible to depict a series of problems she had to face in Norway within the short time frame of the movie. She has emphasized that when she migrated to Norway, it was said that the Indian law would be applied to her parenting style and not the Norwegian law. But the country totally overruled it and made a mess of her life. Her children, especially, her son is still in trauma after the incident.
Sagarika also claimed that her husband failed to stand up against the Norwegian government with her and demand her children back. They even parted ways. But even after having a mutual negotiation between the Indian and Norwegian governments that the parents of Sagarika would be given the right to become the foster parents of the kids, the right was passed on to her husband’s brother.
Several such allegations, debates and denials loom around the movie. It is up to the audience to decide whether they want to visit the theatre to appreciate the remarkable acting of the protagonist Rani Mukerji along with Anirban Bhattacharya, Neena Gupta, Jim Sarbh and Tiina Tauraite, or delve deeper into the real life ordeal of Sagarika Bhattacharya through the reel life ordeal of Rani Mukherjee. But the movie is definitely a must watch.
By
Ms. Apara Bhattacharya
Bureau Chief - Kolkatta
Ms. Shail Raghuvanshi
Copy Editor
INSTANEWSGRAM