The Lunchbox
Irrfan Khan (Life of Pi) leads this romance, where a mistaken delivery in Mumbai connects a young housewife to an older man. As they exchange notes to find the correct address, a relationship is triggered, built on the fantasy of their letters.
Mumbai’s famously efficient lunchbox delivery system transports thousands of meals every day from kitchens to offices. A Harvard University study found that just one in a million lunchboxes is ever delivered to the wrong address. This is the story of that one lunchbox. Ila, a neglected housewife, attempts to spice up her marriage by preparing a special lunch for her husband. When it is accidentally delivered to Saajan, a lonely widower on the brink of retirement, they exchange notes to each other to get to the bottom of the mistaken delivery. Their notes gradually evolve into a series of intimate little confessions.
- Director:
- Ritesh Batra (feature debut)
- Writer:
- Ritesh Batra
- Cast:
- Irrfan KhanNimrat KaurNawazuddin SiddiquiLillete Dubey
Reviews & comments
Flicks, Giles Hardie
flicks
Variety
pressBatra adeptly plays on the tension of will they or won’t they meet, making good decisions based on character and situation rather than the need to uplift an audience.
Total Film
pressFirst-time writer/director Ritesh Batra deserves credit for mining gently captivating drama from a pitch that could have just ended with passive-aggressive Post-its left on the office fridge.
The New York Times
pressThe comedy is more wry than uproarious, the melodrama gently poignant rather than operatic, and the sentimentality just sweet enough to be satisfying rather than bothersome.
The Guardian
pressBy its final act, pressing home the most un-Bollywood message that life's often more complicated than the movies,it's assumed the feel and weight of a well-observed short story.
Flicks, Giles Hardie
flicksVariety
pressBatra adeptly plays on the tension of will they or won’t they meet, making good decisions based on character and situation rather than the need to uplift an audience.
Total Film
pressFirst-time writer/director Ritesh Batra deserves credit for mining gently captivating drama from a pitch that could have just ended with passive-aggressive Post-its left on the office fridge.
The New York Times
pressThe comedy is more wry than uproarious, the melodrama gently poignant rather than operatic, and the sentimentality just sweet enough to be satisfying rather than bothersome.
The Guardian
pressBy its final act, pressing home the most un-Bollywood message that life's often more complicated than the movies,it's assumed the feel and weight of a well-observed short story.
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