Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway (2023), directed by Ashhima Chibber and starring Rani Mukerji, is based on the experiences of Sagarika Chakraborty, who had to go carry out a protracted legal battle to win back custody of her children after they were taken by Norway’s child welfare service. The issue has become controversial after the Norwegian ambassador Hans Jacob Frydenlund alleged in an op-ed he wrote for the Indian Express, that there were factual inaccuracies in the film. Chakraborty responded with a video released on Twitter, in which she condemned the ambassador’s statements, saying they’re lies.
The simmering controversy doesn’t seem to have benefited Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway’s commercial prospects. The film’s opening day collection was Rs 1.27 crore, according to Bollywood Hungama. On its second day, Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway collected Rs 2.26 crore. By the end of the first weekend, the film had made Rs. 6.73 crore, according to India Today. While there has been a marginal but steady increase, the earnings are well below the film’s reported production budget of Rs. 25 crore.
The other film to release last week was Nandita Das’s Zwigato, starring Kapil Sharma and Shahana Goswami. Sharma plays a food delivery rider who, along with his wife (played by Goswami) is trying to make ends meet. On its first day, Zwigato earned Rs 43 lakh and Rs 62 lakh on its second day, reported The Economic Times.