Based on a true incident, Mrs. Chatterjee Vs Norway follows the story of a mother fighting for the custody of her children against the authorities of Norway. This can partially be termed as a biopic too but the story here is indeed harrowing and something which needed to be told. Another attempt from the Hindi Film Industry in trying to churn out original content through some resilient storytelling, and I cannot be happier! The screenplay standing at a shade above 2 hours does make for a rivetting watch although I did feel that things did get slightly repetitive in the first hour.

The drama does begin with a shocking opening sequence which immediately did catch my attention before cutting to the events which did transpire a day before, leading up to the event. Now when I did mention that things were repetitive, this is a good example of it. The entire sequence was given a bit of a recall value in the very next scene and it was a good decision to open with it. But fundamentally when you are tracing the events to its conclusion and especially when the conclusion has been shown already, you do expect a slightly different technique, be it in camera work or otherwise that does reduce the repetitiveness. That isn’t present here although this is not to say that the drama is bad. It is a pretty good watch and hits on all the right emotions in its opening act. This was more of a slight tweak here and there for improvement in utilizing the minutes on the canvas better.

The proceedings are impressive and engrossing with a nice little layer of patriarchy acting as a subtext. This was particularly refreshing to witness in a biopic because usually, the biopics are known to whitewash the image of a person. But the balancing act here in addressing that all was not well with the couple, attributing to the fact that the husband did not help his wife in the household chores leading up to one of the reasons of the ‘abduction’ did seem like a legit point on paper(perhaps toxic parenting in subtext). I did like the treatment of the drama too, although I did have minor issues with the pitch at times. The proceedings could have been slightly mellowed down at certain places but the core emotions were definitely intact.

The drama does rely on some solid characterization given that this is a character driven screenplay. The entire interval block sequence was thrilling yet you could feel a sense of hopelessness tagged to it, thereby prompting you to invest further. The events are quite textured and complex in the second hour with the introduction of the legal proceedings along with the tangled relationships in play. And your heart really feels for the character of the mother, who is nothing short of a superhero. As they say, not all superheroes wear capes, neither do mothers! The resilience and acts of aggression and nicely represented leading up to that emotionally moving final act that does strike a chord, gently tugging the strings of your heart. Overall, the screenplay is quite well written with the right checks and balances as far as the emotions are concerned in what is a drama filled with resilience!