Film Review: The Lunchbox

(27 Sep 2013)

There is something about Ritesh Batra’s directorial venture, ‘The Lunchbox’, that goes beyond all the Oscar-buzz it created. That perhaps is best explained by the film’s simplicity; an artful trait often forgotten by most films.

The film revolves around the two protagonists: a dutiful housewife who feels repeatedly ignored by her husband, and a widower on the verge of his retirement from a government firm. There is a sense of unusual affection that the two gradually develops for each other through a series of letters exchanged in the lunch box that Ila – played by the classy Nimrat Kaur – used to send to her husband. Thanks to the ‘dabba-walas’, the lunch box ended up getting wrongly delivered every day to Saajan, exceptionally screened by Irrfan Khan. This aged character that Irrfan does absolute justice to, is probably one of his best performances till date. Nimrat too pulls out a startling exhibition of her talent.

The story is so honestly written, it does not need to try to be accepted as possible. The upstairs neighbor who Ila calls ‘aunty’ never appears on screen, yet casts a gripping spell with the spontaneity of emotions and well-timed laughter. Between Irrfan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui – who is poised to replace Saajan after his retirement – there are many moments full of human sentiments as well as rich humor.

The narration of Saajan’s observation of the evolution of the affection for Ila is like a journey one would easily sail along. One of the best scenes in the movie is when Siddiqui introduces Saajan to his ladylove. Saajan wants to soak in the youthful fantasy of a female companion, as he says, “My wife is no more; but I have a girlfriend”.

It is for the audience to discover what happens to what some would call an ‘affair’ between perhaps an apple and an orange. What is assured of however is that you will experience a sequence of events unfolding in front of yourself as if reality was on play. Kudos to Ritesh Batra for his consistent mastery through the length of the film. He would have been extremely proud to represent India at the Oscars, but then here is a delicious classic that the director has served us so well, we could do without that trophy!

I am going with 4.5 out of 5 for this prosaic poem. Do watch The Lunchbox if you feel hungry for some truly good cinematic work.