Lunchbox Reviews - Page 4

He barely speaks. She rarely steps out of home. He keeps to himself. She is lonely. He wants to retire in Nashik. She wants to live in Bhutan. They never meet. But can two people who've never met fall in love?

For The Lunchbox marketing team, that last line might seem like a smart catchphrase used to communicate to the audience the film's plot and theme.The Lunchbox, at several points in fact, operates like a love story would. You yearn for the man and woman, who exchange notes with each other in a lunchbox, to meet and fall in love, and fill the void eating up their lives. Saajan (Irrfan Khan), nearing 60, lives in an old Bandra bungalow, with only the memories of his deceased wife and a government job to keep him going. Ila (Nimrat Kaur) is a neglected housewife coming to terms with her loveless marriage and the realisation that her husband might be involved with another woman. It's only with each other and their shared notes, then, do the two find escape from their mundane lives. It's only with each other, they find happiness. In many ways, it's a true-blue love story.

Yet, underlying layers reveal themselves as the film unfolds, and you see a bigger plan in action. Loneliness in the big city, the pain of loss, the inability to communicate even, and especially, with loved ones, living in a patriarchal society - director Ritesh Batra weaves in many stories in one, choosing to keep things straight even while he aims for something greater. The triumph of The Lunchbox lies in the verity of Batra's storytelling and his ability to express a lot while saying little, and making the film seem calm and impetuous at the same time. At its heart, though, The Lunchbox is a simple, heart-warming tale of two strangers with contrasting personalities finding comfort in each other's companionship.

The film begins with the camera following a lunchbox covered in a green cloth, carried around by Mumbai's famous dabbawallas from one end of the city to another. Having been picked up from Ila's doorstep, the lunchbox arrives at Saajan's desk. Ila's put in a special effort to ensure the food stands out, hoping for her husband to notice. In a scene that is an absolute treat to the senses, Ila prepares the dishes with help from an older neighbour who lives a floor above, shouting out instructions to Ila. You only hear the neighbour's voice, belonging to the fantastic Bharti Achrekar, but never see her. When Ila receives the tiffin back in the evening, she's delighted to find it wiped clean. Eventually, though, she realises her husband never received the lunchbox.

Soon, she starts communicating with the stranger who's been sending her back an empty lunchbox through notes. Saajan writes his letters in English, Ila in Hindi - but their differences seem to disappear with time. She tells him about her grandmother's recipes, he tells her about the time he watched his wife through a window as she sat glued to '80s Hindi television shows likeYeh Jo Hai Zindagi. It's mostly banter - idle talk between strangers looking for someone to talk to - but a lot of it strikes a chord, with each other and with the audience.

While his writing holds the narrative together, Batra creates fabulous mood with the help of cinematographer Michael Simmonds, editor John F Lyons, production designer Shruti Gupte and music director Max Richter. It's a film made with clockwork precision, the different hands coming together to craft a spectacularly consistent movie that remains razor-sharp through the 104 minutes it plays.

The acting is of an unusually high standard for a Hindi film. As Saajan's underling Shaikh, Nawazuddin Siddiqui is top-notch. Kaur makes a stellar debut (even though she's done other films before, The Lunchbox is her first release), bringing amazing restraint and understanding to her character. She mostly performs in closed spaces - given she rarely ever moves out of her small apartment - and uses them well to communicate a sense of claustrophobia and uneasiness. Khan delivers another nuanced performance, one that may seem easy to portray because it comes from an actor we are used to watching nail complex characters, but which Khan seems to have worked on with fanatical dedication. In a scene where Saajan looks at himself in a bathroom mirror, before it dawns on him that he's grown into an old man, Khan shows what commitment to craft means.

The Lunchbox is an exceptional film, a rare gem that arrives only once in a few years. Miss it only if you are allergic to all things awesome.

Expectations:

Before the rise of cable cinema and the satellite channels, the only source of watching movies for our cinema lovers' was on national television through Doordarshan. They used to screen films on every sunday evening along with few artistic or realistic films on late friday night show. Most of these films used to be from their sister concern N.F.D.C (National Film Development Corporation), which used to finance small budget films.These films used to be simple, artistic and meaningful cinema. Films like 'JaaneBhi Do Yaaron', 'Mirch Masala', 'SurajKaSatvanGhoda', 'Ek Doctor Ki Maut', 'Pestonjee', 'Salaam Bombay', 'Mammo', etc. are some of the gems from this unique film corporation house. Recently, there was a huge decline in the production of films from this corporation and films that released too, were not properly marketed or promoted. But this year they are back with a bang and have associated themselves with big production houses and popular names attached to it in form of their latest film 'The Lunchbox'. Right from its first promo, the film gives you the feeling of watching a feel good film with slice of life type cinema. Many times the actual films are drastically opposite to their promos. Thus let's find out whether 'The Lunchbox' may be as good as its promos are or might be like those films with unique and good concept but on overall basis ends up on a disappointing note.

Story:

'The Lunchbox' is story of a middle aged widower Fernandez {Irrfan Khan} who accidently receives a lunch box made by a housewife Ila {NimratKaur}. As Ila discovers that the lunchbox has been delivered on a wrong address, she sends a letter along with the food again for Fernandez. This starts the cute and sweet bonding of exchanging letters between these two unknown people. What happens next is what the entire film is all about.

Screenplay & Technicalities:

Story might remind you of films like 'Tum Bin' or 'You've Got Mail' but believe me besides the whole treatment and premise of this movie it is total different and unique. The writer beautifully uses the Mumbai dabbawala, local trains along with the office going crowd of commercial part of Mumbai city as the backdrop of the film. Due to which you might feel the magic of few middle class based films like 'Choti Si Baat', 'BaatonBaaton Mein', 'PiyaKaGhar', etc. The story might be one liner type but has loads of sweet and touching moments between the main protagonists of the film. Scenes like Irfaan's first reaction over the food followed by his reaction at the time of receiving the first letter, Nimrat's talk with BhartiAchrekar, Irfaan's scolding the small kids, Nawazuddin trying to interact with Irfaan, Irfaan scaring Nawazuddin followed by their talks over Bhutan at the lunch time, Irfaan firing Nawazuddin, Irfaan's-Nawazuddin's chat over the dinner, etc. are fantastic. Also the letter interaction (Which might remind you of the Farooq Sheikh - ShabhanaAzmi's play "Tumhari Amrita") scenes like the introduction chat, banana joke, BhartiAchrekar's fan incident, Irfaan's train travel incident followed by him sharing about his wife and old T.V shows and many more not only brings a big smile on your face but at times also gives you a lump in your throat. These beautifully written scenes are superbly performed by the lead protagonist of the film which keeps you glued through the silver screen.

On the flip side, the last part of the film gets a bit stretched which slows down the pace of the film. Also, the climax might come up as a surprise too as you want to see more of these realistic people. Camera work is superb and does proper justice to the film. The whole soul of Mumbai city's busy life has been beautifully used in the film. Editing is great till the last part of the film, which should have been little tighter. You will love the crisp editing between two scenes fantastically connected with each other.

Music & Direction:

There are no songs in this slice of life type film, but the background score is mind blowing. The usage of local Mumbai dabbawala song, Bhutan song {which might remind you of a Kishore Kumar's song - Kaunsunegakiskosunaye'}, Film songs {Saajan, Raja Hindustani} and many more in the background adds the fine detailing to the film.

Director RiteshBatra made few short films and portrayed his potential as a good director. But with 'The Lunchbox' he joins the elite list of ace film makers who makes a beautiful film out of a simple story line with good detailing and extracting fantastic performance by the lead actors. He makes you feel the romance and bonding between his lead pair. It's after ages we see a proper middle class based film without any unwanted stuff attached to it.

Performances:

Irfaan Khan gives another astonishing performance. He makes you believe in his character with his expressions, body moments and mannerisms. His voice modulation along with facial expressions sync brilliantly. He is simply flawless in this film. NawazuddinSiddiqui proves that with a small role too he can prove his presence and give a brilliant performance. NimratKaur as the unhappy housewife looks sweet and charming. It's very tough to match up to the level of ace actors like Irfaan Khan and NawazuddinSiddiqui and surprisingly here, Nimrat comes at par with them. NakulVaid was wasted. LilleteDubey was not in her best form. The usage of BharatiAchrekar voice is another gem to look out for.

Final Verdict: So bolmeri "FILMI KHOPDI" iss film meinkitnahain Dum?

Dum? Well for all those who love meaningful, feel good, artistic, realistic, performance based type of films this movie is a must watch for all of you. The masses and the masala film lovers might not have much stored for them in this film thus might prefer to stay away from this fine cinema. But for good cinema lovers this movie will definitely satisfy your cinematic appetite and leave you mesmerized.