This epic Hindi-language testament to tenacious maternal love has been neatly timed for release over the UK Mother’s Day weekend, although it’s based on a true story which began over a decade earlier. Sagarika Chakraborty had already been living in Norway for four years when, in 2011, her two young children were taken by the state for no apparent reason. Rani Mukerji stars as this latter-day Mother India, renamed Debika Chatterjee for the film. It’s a dowdy role for the usually glamorous Bollywood star, but then any averagely vivacious human being would stand out against this grey Norway of municipal buildings and expressionless bureaucrats.
Why were Debika’s children taken away? The official list of charges – co-sleeping, hand-feeding, applying kohl – amount, on the face of it, to simple cultural differences, not child abuse. According to Debika’s husband (Anirban Bhattacharya) though, it’s all her fault: she’s too emotional, too dramatic, too unwilling to integrate. As the film progresses, Debika is increasingly alone in her battle against a mighty foreign state. It’s not just Mrs Chatterjee v Norway, but Mrs Chatterjee v The In-Laws, Mrs Chatterjee v The Mean Mums and Mrs Chatterjee v The Entire, Legally-Enshrined Patriarchy.
