Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway: The real story of an Indian couple that inspired the Bollywood film
The trailer of Rani Mukerji starrer Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway, which was released on Thursday, has brought back focus on a decade-old case that an Indian couple fought in Norway to get back the custody of their two children. The case, where the child welfare authority of Norway took custody of Anurup and Sagarika Bhattacharya’s two children, shocked the entire world about Norway’s strict policies related to child-rearing. It also led to a diplomatic row between India and Norway.
It was in 2011 when Norway’s child welfare service also called Barnevarne, took custody of Anurup and Sagarika’s children and placed them under foster care. The couple had to involve the Indian government to unite with their children and the case took two long years before the children could unite with their parents.
The grueling journey of Sagarika Bhattacharya is soon going to be on celluloid in Ashima Chibber’s film Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway. The film features Rani Mukerji the lead and marks Bengali actor Anirban Bhattacharya’s debut in Bollywood. The film also features Jim Sarbh and Neena Gupta in key roles. Watch the trailer of the film here
Before the film hits theatres, here’s a look back at the case, that shocked the entire world.
What Happened With Mr and Mrs Bhattacharya?
Anurup Bhattacharya and Sagarika Bhattacharya moved to Norway in 2007. They had their first child, a boy named Avigyan the following year and a baby girl Aishwarya in 2010. Avigyan reportedly developed ‘autism-like’ symptoms in his early years and was placed in a family kindergarten near the family’s home.
The family was reportedly under watch for months by the child welfare service and in May 2011, the authorities took away the couple’s children under the pretext of bad parenting. They raised objection to Sagarika hand-feeding the baby and equated it to force-feeding. They also had problems with children sleeping on the same bed as their parents- something that is very common in Indian households.
Charges against the parents also included a slap by Sagarika Bhattacharya – just once – and that the children did not have enough room to play. They were also accused of providing “unsuitable” clothes and toys to their children.
About Norway’s child welfare services
Commonly known as Barnevernet in Norway, the body is the public organisation responsible for child protection in the country. The organisation is extremely strict about child protection and imposes stict regulations for all citizens living in the country, irrespective of their cultural background. A mild slap is also considered to be illegal.
The Child Welfare Services is responsible for implementing measures for children and their families in situations where there are special needs in relation to the home environment. Assistance is provided in form of counseling, advisory services, and aid measures, including external support contacts, relief measures in the home, and access to daycare.
In the case of Bhattacharya’s, counseling was being provided, which the couple had claimed to have followed.
The Diplomatic row between India and Norway
The Bhattacharyas had appealed to the foreign ministry to intervene in the case. The Child welfare service of Norway was severely criticized by the Government of India for taking the children away from their parents. Berit Aarset, who heads Human Rights Alert, Norway, called the incident “state kidnapping”. She said, “This is not the first time such a thing is happening in Norway …the legal system favours the Child Welfare Services and they do what they want all the time… quite often when a Norwegian is married to a non-Norwegian they also do the same thing; they also do this to asylum seekers and in almost every case they say one of the parents has a mental problem just to make their case strong …that is what has happened in [this] case too.”
After a diplomatic row between the two countries, the Norwegian authorities decided to award the custody of the children to their father’s brother, enabling him to bring them back to India.
By then Anurup and Sagarika’s marriage ran through troubled waters and they separated. Sagarika had to undergo another round of legal battle, this time in India, to get custody of her children. She had alleged that her husband and her in-laws had falsely accused her of being mentally unstable and hence unfit to take care of the two children.
In 2013, Sagarika was granted custody of her children by the court. She now reportedly spends a quiet and private life with her children in Kolkata, India.
