Meet Sagarika Chatterjee, Indian mother who inspired Rani Mukerji's latest movie 'Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway'

The trailer of Bollywood actress Rani Mukerji’s comeback to the theatres was revealed, and the movie is titled ‘Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway’, describing the fight of an Indian mother against the country’s government to be reunited with her two children.

What must surprise you is that the story of Rani Mukerji's new film Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway is actually inspired by real-life events. The story of movie is based on the life and battle of an Indian mother named Sagarika Chatterjee in Norway.

Sagarika Chatterjee is a woman who stood up against the government of Norway to fight for the right to be reunited with her children after they were taken away from her and placed in foster case until the age of 18, as per Norwegian law.

Who is Sagarika Chatterjee? Know her struggles in Norway

The performance of Rani Mukerji in ‘Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway’ has been inspired by the real-life happenings of a woman named Sagarika Chatterjee, who went through similar struggles when her children were taken away from her.

Sagarika Chatterjee married geophysicist Anurup Bhattacharya and the couple moved to Norway in 2007 and gave birth to her first child who turned out to be autistic. Her son Abhigyaan was soon placed into a family kindergarten while Sagarika gave birth to her second child Aishwarya in 2010.

Sagarika’s world was left upside down when in 2011, Norwegian Child Welfare Services, known as the Barnevernet took both her children away, to be placed in foster care till they turned 18. Both Chatterjee and her husband were seen as “unfit parents”.

Sagarika was deemed an “unfit mother” and “mentally unstable” since she used to feed her children by hand (looked at as force-feeding in Norway) and used to make her children sleep in the same bed, practices which are common in Indian culture but frowned upon in Norway.

Due to the struggles surrounding their children, Sagarika and her husband’s relationship began to implode. After a long legal battle with the Norwegian government, she also sought the help of the Indian government and finally claimed custody of her children.

READ | Karan Johar has already seen Rani Mukerji's Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway, calls it her 'best performance till date'