Netflix’s newest addition to the comedy-drama genre ‘Mimi’ explores the ideas of surrogacy, motherhood, and its impact on a conservative society with a heartfelt narrative.
Mimi (Kriti Sanon), an aspiring actress from a small town in Rajasthan, has dreams of going to Bollywood and acting with her star crush, Ranveer Singh. However, she falls short of money and has to earn through dancing.
Luck soon favours her, as she is offered Rs 20 lakh to be a surrogate mother for an American couple, Summer (Evelyn Edwards) and John (Aidan Whytock).
Bhanu (Pankaj Tripathi), the middleman, succeeds in persuading both parties with his immaculate flair. The only stumbling block is Mimi’s ability to conceal her pregnant tummy from her parents and the rest of society.
The film explores the difficulties of surrogacy and the problems that arise without proper consideration of its impact. Things take a turn, though, when the couple backs out of the agreement and refuses to receive the child.
Mimi’s family believes that a pregnant unwed daughter indicates that the child is illegitimate. Bhanu finds himself as the scape goat as Mimi calls him the father of the child.
What happens after the child is born? Does this movie serve a happy ending for the surrogate mother and the baby?
Here is the Mimi ending explained in detail:
Bun in the oven
The plot of the movie begins with the American couple in search of a suitable, healthy girl to carry their child. Bhanu, their cab driver in Rajasthan, offers to find her for them for the offer of Rs. 5 lakh.
While searching for the perfect girl, the couple notices Mimi dancing for entertainment in the hotel they are staying at and decides to have her as the mother of their child if she agrees.
Bhanu is entrusted with the responsibility of speaking to her, and he approaches her. Mimi is initially enraged at the offensive idea. However, he later explains that it’s not necessary to sleep with the man to be a surrogate.
Mimi considers the idea, and after listening to the offer of Rs. 20 lakh for the pregnancy, she agrees without thinking about the social, emotional, and legal side of the entire ordeal. It serves as a flight to her dream of becoming an actress.
She is soon taken to a hospital in Jaipur, where she is checked up and declared healthy for the baby. In a medical procedure, the sperm and the egg of the couple are inserted into her, and she turns out to be pregnant a few days later.
Both parties are overjoyed. The American couple pays Mimi for four months and returns to their home in the USA to earn more money for the entire process.
On the other hand, Mimi has to think of means to conceal her pregnancy from her parents and society, and cooks up an elaborate plan.
She moves in with her dancer friend, Shama, whose father is a Maulvi and rarely stays home. Mimi, pretending to be Shama’s relative, moves in with her. Meanwhile, Bhanu, who has to take care of her, joins them as Mimi’s husband.
Things go well for a few months until everything comes crashing down.
Cat out of the bag
The elaborate plans and dreams that Mimi has weaved to hide the pregnancy, while earning enough to fulfil her dreams of becoming an actress, soon come crashing down.
After some months, the American couple returns to India to check up on Mimi and the baby. They go to the doctor for a check-up, and everything comes out well. They are overjoyed.
However, the doctor soon calls them and informs them that there is a possibility that their child has some mental defect and is suffering from down syndrome.
The couple is devastated at the news, and they decide to return home, leaving behind their unborn baby and Mimi. Through Bhanu, they inform Mimi to abort the child.
Mimi is shocked and enraged at the idea, and she runs out of her friend’s home, her baby bump on full display. Everyone, including her parents, knows of her pregnancy.
Mimi, emotionally drained, is brought to her home, where her parents question her about the truth of the baby. Mimi tells them that the baby is Bhanu’s, and they are married to hide the background story.
Mimi’s parents, surprisingly, settle down with the idea and start taking care of their daughter and their grandchild. A few weeks later, she gives birth to a baby boy in a government hospital.
The baby is born completely healthy but looks nothing like his supposed parents owing to his fair skin and blond hair. His unique nature attracts much awe from the people around them.
Very soon, the entire family is roped around the little boy’s fingers. Bhanu’s real family — his wife and mother — come to know of the entire fiasco but soon accepts the baby when the truth is out that the baby is a surrogate.
The family again accepts it all, and the movie looks at a happier going when a new twist comes into the picture.
Final decision
The twist arrives in the movie when the American couple returns to India and sets foot in Mimi’s home. They have seen a viral video of Mimi and Raj (their child) dancing and realise it’s their baby.
They ask Mimi to return their child to them. Mimi, who is emotionally invested in Raj and considers herself his mother, is both angry and shocked.
She declares to their faces that the child is not theirs anymore since they discarded him thinking him to be ‘defective.’ She denies giving them the baby, and the family sides with her.
The couple, however, wouldn’t accept it. John tells Bhanu that his wife had tried to commit suicide out of depression and that their child is their only happiness. They decide to seek legal action.
Bhanu calls for a lawyer who informs them that Mimi has no right over the child since Raj was born out of surrogacy. If they choose to fight in court, Raj needs to be produced in court throughout.
Mimi, heartbroken, doesn’t want the little kid to face such harsh conditions and decides to let him go with the “white fairy”, as he calls his biological mother.
She figures that everyone can already see whose child Raj is, and the fight appears futile and probably emotionally draining and confusing for the 4-year-old child.
The entire family amicably goes to send Raj with the couple. However, after they meet them, the couple tells that they have adopted an Indian girl child and understands Raj would be happiest with his mother, Mimi.
The movie culminates in a happy ending with the lesson that to be a parent, the child doesn’t need to be your own blood.
Also Read: Blood Red Sky ending explained: Does Nadja save her son?