The 2 hours 16-minute long film opens with the welfare officers snatching Debika and Anirudh Chatterjee’s (Rani Mukerji and Anirban Bhattacharya) 5-month old daughter Suchi and 5-years-old son Shubh away and taking them to a protected facility. The decision is taken after 10 weeks of the Chatterjee family being under surveillance of Norwegian Child Welfare Services (Barnevernet, referred to as Velfred in the film). The main reason is major cultural differences. The morning chaos of an Indian household where the husband is nagging if the breakfast is not on time, the generally unruly household, Debika using her hand instead of a spoon to feed Shubh, the kids sleeping in the same bed as the parents, the mother not keeping up with her son's homework, an allegedly abusive husband who doesn’t help his wife in household chores – all become reasons for the Chatterjees to be tagged as unreliable and unfit parents. 

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Cultural differences and opposite parental practices become enemies of Debika, who with an extremely stubborn, toxic and non-supporting husband, takes it into her own hands to get her children's custody back from Velfred. When worse comes to worst, Debika approaches the Indian government through the Minister of External Affairs of India Vasudha Kamat (Neena Gupta as a Minister modeled on Sushma Swaraj who actually played a pivotal role in the real case) at a press conference being held in Norway. Despite receiving help from the Indian government to get her kids out of foster care, Debika's troubles don't end and pick up again in Kolkata with a greedy and grasping family of in-laws. What follows next is Debika’s protracted and painful mission to get her kids back through the Calcutta High Court.

What works for the film is the truly inspiring story. Despite having taken creative liberty, the screenplay is as realistic as it gets. Rani is a natural actor and there's no denying that. While she plays Mrs. Chatterjee, she plays a mother beautifully. There are some real emotions there. Anirban as the husband who only cares about his Norwegian citizenship plays Anirudh brilliantly. His emotions of irritation and annoyance are strong in every scene. Jim Sarbh as the couple's legal representative tells his own story in the subtlest manner. He is precise and does justice to his role. Neena Gupta's special appearance is worth the watch. Special credit to Balaji Gauri, who brings the climax of courtroom drama to life with her quirk and power. Mention must also be made of the foreign character artistes who play Velfred officials. They do so maliciously and are loathsomely believable.

With Mrs. Chatterjee Vs Norway, Ashima Chibber has a powerful and urgent subject on hand. It’s an emotional rollercoaster ride that tugs at your heartstrings with good days of the couple and their children beautifully shown in flashback. The climax is well done. It makes you feel emotional and proud at the same time. Ashima, Sameer Satija and Rahul Handa's writing follows a decent flow. Alvar Kõue's cinematography captures Norway (Estonia, actually) and Bengal perfectly. Namrata Rao's editing, however, could have been a little crispier. Amit Trivedi's music is soulful and adds an emotional layer to the story. Especially the Bengali songs playing in the background.

PeepingMoon gives Mrs. Chatterjee Vs Norway 3.5