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The Lunchbox (PG)
Directed by Ritesh Batra
4 stars
THE hardships and inequalities of life in India are served up subtly but poignantly in this touching bitter-sweet feature.
It’s based in Mumbai, renowned for its efficient lunchbox delivery service.
But when one is delivered to the wrong address it results in the beginning of a beautiful if unlikely friendship between young housewife Ila (Nimrat Kaur) and lonely widower Saajan (Irrfan Khan), who is about to retire from his office job after 35 years.
In an exchange of notes via the lunchbox the pair slowly open up to one another, confiding their hopes and fears.
We, like them, are swept up in the excitement of their blossoming relationship.
Due to Kaur and Khan’s engaging and heartfelt performances you can’t help but yearn for a happy-ever-after ending.
It is Saajan who appreciates Ila’s culinary efforts while her husband, who she discovers is having an affair, never once realises he isn’t eating his wife’s lovingly cooked meals.
Her only solace is Saajan’s notes and her aunt who lives upstairs and provides most of the film’s humour.
The use of traditional written notes instead of modern-day social media is inspired as it adds to the mystery and the romance.
Yet it reflects the arduous and thankless lives many Indian women lead being beholden to husbands who take them for granted.
Meanwhile Saajan’s replacement at work, the annoyingly keen and eager Shaikh (Nawazuddin Siddiqui), is indicative of those with no future or prospects in Indian society. An orphan, he has had to claw his way up to a decently paid job.
The Lunchbox leaves its ending open, entirely in keeping with what turns out to be an impressive feature film debut by writer-director Ritesh Batra who delivers a delightful yet insightful romantic drama, Brief Encounter style.
Will leave you craving seconds.