Decoding The Lunchbox (2013)

Movie no. 12/100

May 27, 2018

Most often than not, movies which do the rounds at prestigious film festivals such as Cannes, get stereotyped to be intense, gloomy and dark. Director Ritesh Batra’s 2013 BAFTA-nominated movie, ‘The Lunchbox’ is a poignant love story, set on the backdrop of a bustling Mumbai and the demons the protagonists fight in their mundane lives. As a small film presented by half a dozen producers, this Irrfan Khan – Nimrat Kaur starrer stands out for being extremely real in its emotional depiction of love through letters.

The movie opens in a typical cramped Mumbai household with the lady of the house, Ila (played by Nimrat Kaur), attending to her morning chores while chatting with her neighbor on the floor above, Deshpande aunty (voice by Bharti Achrekar). To get her disinterested husband’s attention, she tries to make her way to his heart through his stomach. Due to a goof-up by the famed Dabbawalas of Mumbai, her husband’s lunchbox reaches an aging widower on the cusp of his retirement, Sajan Fernandes (played by Irrfan Khan). This sparks the beginning of a conversation between two strangers, which starts with marital problems and soon becomes an avenue for them to let their angst out. In a sub-track, we have a ‘jugaadu’ Shaikh (played by Nawazuddin Siddiqui), an ill-qualified successor for Fernandes at his workplace.

The lunchbox is not your usual love story, neither is it a conventional Hindi movie. The director uses a slew of cinematic techniques, that make it an intelligently made film. For instance, it has scenes in abundance where a message is conveyed without spelling it out. Like smelling a shirt to signify an Ila’s husband’s affair or the longing stares of Fernandes into his neighbors dining table, signifying his craving for a loving family. The movie may seem extremely slow but the director uses the pace to emphasize on the emotions that his characters go through. For instance, the scene where a shocked Meherunissa, Shaikh’s fiance (played by Shruti Bapna), asks Fernandes if he has a girlfriend. Fernandes smiles, contemplates for a while and lets out a ‘yes’ which almost sounds like a sigh!

The movie is blessed with a great supporting cast in the form of Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Lilette Dubey and Bharati Achrekar’s voice. While Nawazuddin Siddiqui plays a light-hearted character, who chops vegetables on his office files in a local train, Lilette Dubey plays the catalyst that makes Ila take the big step that she eventually does. Bharati Achrekar, by just lending her voice, evokes warmth for an endearing elderly neighbor, who cares for the unhappy married life of Ila. But, the movie belongs to its leads, Irrfan khan and Nimrat Kaur. Playing a lonely, irritable widower, Irrfan displays an honesty that makes his character extremely endearing. Nimrat Kaur in her first role as the lead is a revelation. She displays the vulnerabilities of a housewife and her longing for love. The lead pair is not seen together in a single scene throughout the movie but their chemistry is palpable. Sample the scene where she asks Deshpande Aunty to play songs from Saajan, a cute moment where she realizes her love for a man she has not even seen.

A word of caution for those who do not enjoy slow story-telling. It appears slow but never makes you lose interest, so do give it a try. And to those who enjoy poignant, heartwarming real tales of love, this is a must watch!