This award-winning, multi-national production of 2013 piques not just one’s romantic interest but also intrigues one. The Lunchbox is a tale of certainly lunches, but it is much more than that. The movie tells the tale of Ila Sehgal who wants to bring romance back into her marriage by possibly trying to cook delicious lunches for her husband. She sends the lunches through the famed dabbawala system of Mumbai. Due to a mix-up, her lunch instead gets delivered to the widower Saajan Fernandes, who is about to retire from his job as an accountant. Realizing the mistake, Sehgal sends a letter with the lunchbox to Fernandes. The exchange of letters starts of a friendship between them that eventually leads to much more.
The
tale here is not in the telling but in the portrayal of everyday events, in the
life of the characters, through the epistolary mode. One gets to know of the
simple and the complex thoughts of Sehgal and Fernandes through their letters.
Whether it’s about chillies or it’s about Bhutan, the script weaved by Ritesh
Batra has the audience in its thrall. Will the pair come together or won’t
they? The suspense keeps us going till the very end.
The Lunchbox
is not your everyday fare, yet it did remarkably well at the box office. Its
portrayal of Mumbai life and the everyday life of ordinary people caught the
hearts of many. Both the late Irrfan Khan and Nimrat Kaur performed wonderfully
in their roles as lead actors. Even the often highly critical site Rotten
Tomatoes gave the movie a rating of 97% stating “The Lunchbox is a clever crowd-pleaser from first-time director Ritesh Batra."
Khan excels as the sour but not quite heartless accountant, never going
overboard. His steady performance as an actor, keeps you enthralled. Kaur, as
the troubled homemaker, also puts up an excellent performance, ensuring she
steals our hearts as well.
The film is filled with little incidents that
could happen to any of us as well. This is what makes it so delightful and
charming. For instance the way Sehgal uses a rigged basket system to transport
chillies to the neighbour below, or how Fernandes looks forward to his lunch every
day without appearing to do so, are just examples of the movie’s endearing
charm. The day Fernandes decides to meet Sehgal, scenes of different parts of
Mumbai are shown as he traverses the city. It’s almost like a mini tour of this
sprawling metro, encouraging one to visit.
The letters themselves carry such a deep
insight into the human condition and throw light on the personality of the
characters being played by Khan and Kaur. Their happiness and miseries are
brought to light as well as their doubts and revelations as they begin their
journey through letters. Each letter brings with it delight and a note of
contemplation for the viewer as well, no matter how short it may seem. It
leaves the audience thinking and also waiting for more.
