Rani Mukerji is preparing to travel to Delhi to receive her first National Film Award for Best Actress for her performance in "Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway". This marks a significant milestone in her remarkable 30-year career. The 71st National Film Awards will recognize Mukerji's portrayal of Debika Chatterjee, a character inspired by the real-life struggle of Sagarika Chakraborty, an Indian mother who fought the Norwegian child welfare system to regain custody of her children. The awards were announced at the National Media Centre in New Delhi.

"Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway," directed by Ashima Chibber, was released in March 2023 and received critical and commercial acclaim. The film brought global attention to a deeply emotional case of cultural clashes, custody conflicts, and unwavering maternal love. Mukerji's powerful performance captures a mother's anguish and resilience. The film also sparked renewed discourse on the limits of cultural understanding in global child welfare cases. It is currently available for streaming on Netflix.

Rani Mukerji expressed her gratitude and dedicated the award to mothers worldwide. In her statement, she said she was overwhelmed to have won the National Award for her performance in "Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway". She acknowledged that this was her first National Award in her 30-year career. Mukerji thanked the National Award jury for honoring her work and shared the moment with the entire team of the film, including producers Nikkhil Advani, Monisha Advani, Madhu Bhojwani, and director Ashima Chibber. She also thanked her fans for their unwavering support throughout her career.

Following the announcement of the National Award, Rani Mukerji visited Mumbai's Siddhivinayak Temple to offer prayers.

Ashima Chibber, the film's director, expressed her confidence in Rani's performance and the film's international acclaim. Chibber added that Rani has outperformed in every film but "hit it out of the park" with 'Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway'. Her performance also reached international shores as the filmmaker revealed getting emails and messages from across the globe about the film and how moved people were by the story and Rani's performance. Chibber weighed in on the social media conversation that both Rani Mukerji and Shah Rukh Khan received this honour quite late in their careers and mentioned how both of them have done some phenomenal work and shown a wide range in their performances.