All I know about India is what I have seen in movies or read in books. Every time I watch a movie I learn something new about this complex and ancient culture.
Apparently Mumbai is famous for its extremely efficient lunchbox delivery system. Why don’t the office workers take their lunch with them in the morning and bring the empty box home at night? The astonishing system of the lunchbox traveling to and from work is documented in the first few minutes of the movie, and that alone is worth watching.
But it comes with a delightful, uplifting story about two lonely souls drifting in the endless stream of Indian humanity.
Ila is a middle-class housewife with one young daughter. He husband has lost all interest in her. But it’s her job as part of the housekeeping to make him lunch every day.
One day, due to some mix-up, the box gets switched and arrives at the desk of a complete stranger, Saajan, an accountant close to retirement. The lunch is delicious. When the box arrives back at Ila’s home, she notices that it must not have been delivered to her husband, since everything was eaten. She decides to send a note to clear up the mystery.
Thus starts the exchange of notes between Ila and Saajan, first about trivialities, then soon getting into their feelings, dreams and life aspirations. Soon the notes in the lunchbox become the highlight of their days, something both live for.
Then there is Auntie, who lives one floor above Ila in her building. They communicate by talking out the window to each other. We never see her and only know her as a voice, but I feel that I know more about the person Auntie and her life, than I know about many cardboard lead characters in many Hollywood movies.
The Lunchbox is delightful storytelling about an exotic land and, to an American, strange customs and a strange work environment.
Wonderful.
Rating *** 1/2
Note: English subtitles. The Indian English is very hard to understand and the characters often switch to native Indian languages.
Hi Norbert! I’m a resident of Mumbai and like the way you have reviewed this movie. It is one of my favorite movies. Ofcourse, the mere fact that it’s different from mainstream Bollywood movies is worth the watch (atleast for me) . Irfan khan is a very versatile actor. I would like to add a few things to your review,
1. The lady Ila tries to make good food so that her husband gains his lost interest in her.
2. Her husband is screwed up anyways, so it doesn’t matter as he would never appreciate his woman’s sincere efforts (that’s a lesson to all Indian watchers 😉 ) plus she finds out that her husband has cheated on her because there are lipstick marks on his shirt. Thus the continuous phone messages and non engagement with his wife.
3. In the end Irfan khan goes to meet Ila and her child and most probably take them along with him out of the needless misery the woman is facing.
Fun fact : The dabbawalas (tiffin box deliverers) have been rated sigma 6! They have never made a mistake as shown in the film ever! King of England Charles regards highly of them so has funded them.
The reason people use this service is because they want their tiffins to be delivered hot (one reason, not always applicable considering the distance) and the timings of the employees in Mumbai are such that it’s difficult for Indian women to wake up early and cook meals and look after the children and all the chores.
Thank you for your very insightful and appropriate comments. I figured that the service is there because the men like their food hot. You have just confirmed that. Here in the U.S. we use microwave ovens at the office to reheat our lunches. It is a delightful movie, I agree with you.