Rani Mukerji bagged the IIFA 2024 trophy of Best Actress in a Leading Role for bringing exceptional depth and emotion to her heart-wrenching portrayal in the film 'Mrs. Chatterjee vs. Norway'. Rani Mukerji played the character of an immigrant mother, who fights against all odds to win back the custody of her children.She received the award on Saturday in Abu Dhabi.
'Mrs. Chatterjee VS Norway', directed by Ashima Chibber, is the story of an immigrant mother who fights against all odds to win back the custody of her children. Neena Gupta, Jim Sarbh and Bengali actor Anirban Bhattacharya played pivotal roles in the film. In her acceptance speech, Rani said, "It feels incredible to be standing here, receiving the best actor award in the midst of such a warm and wonderful audience and my friends and colleagues from my fraternity for one of the most special films of my career."
She added, "Receiving this award at IIFA feels even more special as it validates the fact that Mrs. Chatterjee VS Norway made an impact globally in people's hearts. Mrs. Chatterjee VS Norway's success reaffirms the timeless power of storytelling and the universal language of maternal love and human resilience. The story of this Indian immigrant mother shook me deeply. A mother's love for a child is unconditional, something I used to believe was a myth until I had my own."
On green carpet of IIFA 2024, she shared her experience of being part of the it and said that as a mother, the film was an "eye-opener". The 'Ghulam' actor added, "'Mrs. Chatterjee vs Norway' for me as a mother was an eye-opener. For me as an Indian, it was an eye-opener to understand the plight of immigrant Indian women outside of India; you know we don't get to hear such stories. We do hear of immigrant stories, but this really shook me. Because it was about bringing up your children. And the question that was asked as to why an Indian woman can't raise children the way she wants to was something that shook me."
Rani, who is also a doting mother, shared that every woman wants the best for their children, and the story of the film was quite shocking for her. "We all women are the same when it comes to our children. We want the best for our children. And no mother in her right mind would do anything which would be detrimental to a child's growth. So for me, that was shocking. It was an eye-opener, and I wanted the story to reach as many people..."