THE LUNCHBOX: A 7-course meal for cinema-lovers with good appetite for quality cinema! [4/5]

If local trains are one inseparable lifeline for Mumbai, dabbawallah are unquestionably the other. Delivering food for love/love for food in dabbas to more than 2 lakh people working in their respective fields of interest everyday…that too by a comparatively smaller number of a few thousands dedicated Dabbawallah on their toes, impermeable of bad weather, terrible traffic issues, unfortunate terrorist attacks and uncalled natural disasters! No wonder, surveys indicate that the chances of failure in this 130-year old mechanism fall to once in a 6 million deliveries.

 

Ritesh Batra’s ‘already riding high on appreciations allover’ slice-of-life, middle-age romantic drama THE LUNCHBOX finds its foundation on that very one mistake, an endearing one that turns into an overwhelming, appetite-full, high-on-emotions love-story between two lone souls lost in the overcrowded city of dreams, Mumbai.

Ila, a housewife and a mother of a 7-year old girl, seeks help in making new delicious recipes for her husband’s lunchbox either from master chef Sanjeev Kapoor on radio/TV or from the neighboring aunty who lives on the second floor with her husband in coma. Interestingly, we hear only voice of her crashing to our ears. Besides that, Ila’s other pastimes limit in washing dirty linens, waiting for her husband to come home and watching him finishing his dinner in some way attending panel discussion on TV news. Loneliness is subtle but the pain is quite visible.

Saajan Fernandez is a face that you see everywhere around yourself. He could be an account manager in your local bank. He could a wrinkled postmaster with all names & addresses on his fingertips. He might not be updated with technology and gadgets our new generation uses but he is there behind his desk for like more than 35 years. This particular face we see on screen is on the edge & age of retirement. He is a widower too. Here again, the loneliness is subtle but the pain & emptiness in his eyes is clearly visible to make you uncomfortable within.

So, when one day the dabba for Ila’s husband reaches mistakenly on the desk of Mr. Fernandez, the old-fashioned yet very amusing-very charming practice of letter-writing takes place to share their individual emotions. They write about the lip-smacking dishes Ila cooks, they write about their personal life experiences and they also share their fears about how life could take a turn on them.

Meanwhile, there is frustratingly funny Shaikh who is about to take place of Saajan after his withdrawal. Lively as anything! He is an orphan but still likes to start his saying with ‘my mother used to say…’ as he thinks it would give it more ‘vajan’.  

THE LUNCHBOX creates an aromatic ambiance for two separate worlds of Ila & Saajan. With pile of files on desks, old ceiling fans & bleak faces, Saajan vanishes in a typical government office. Ila’s world is restricted to the kitchen platform and window attached with to make regular conversations with aunty. In others, there are crowded local trains crawling on tracks and an artist on the pavement who paints same painting everyday.

Film’s biggest strength is the writing. Every sequence conveys and leaves some or the other emotion with you. Be it Ila’s imagination to a suicide story or Saajan’s reluctant behavior towards his new colleague! With low-light, grainy visuals to show the realism within the on-location shoots, cinematography is apt & a top class. Sound designing is also something to look out for. You can actually smell the ambiance through those sound bits. Ritesh Batra scores high in creating a simple love-story with a perfect mix of emotions and cinematic brilliance. A story has been told the way it should be. No extra ‘masala’, no unnecessary ‘tadka’!

On the performance side, Irrfan as Saajan Fernandez delivers as much as you could expect from him. He speaks in silence. He throws silence while speaking. Nimrat Kaur in her acting debut surprises you the most. She can be very emotive at one and equally amusing at the other. She makes you feel for the character and in the most simple and impressive way. Her unsophisticated & refined but raw portrayal of Ila will leave you speechless. & then comes, Nawazuddin as Aslam shaikh! Smiles come easy & entertainment is handy when he’s there in the frame.

Overall, THE LUNCHBOX is bittersweet but a rich-in-taste culinary experience like no other. Perfectly cooked-nicely served! Make reservations for weekend in advance! Book a table now! It’s a 7-course meal for cinema-lovers with good appetite for quality cinema! [4/5]

Special Note: Dear Bollywood! Bless me with one LOOTERA, one SHIP OF THESEUS, one LUNCHBOX every year and I’ll forgive you for all your sins of producing ‘HOUSEFULLs’ ‘GRAND MASTIs’ & ‘ZANJEERs’!