X
- 2014
- PG
- Sony Pictures Classics
- 1 h 44 m
- 2014
- PG
- Sony Pictures Classics
- 1 h 44 m
Summary A mistaken delivery in Mumbai's famously efficient lunchbox delivery system connects a young housewife to an old man in the dusk of his life as they build a fantasy world together through notes in the lunchbox. Gradually, this fantasy threatens to overwhelm their reality.
Directed By: Ritesh Batra
Written By: Vasan Bala, Ritesh Batra
- 2014
- PG
- Sony Pictures Classics
- 1 h 44 m
- 2014
- PG
- Sony Pictures Classics
- 1 h 44 m
The Lunchbox
76
8.0
Where to Watch
Summary A mistaken delivery in Mumbai's famously efficient lunchbox delivery system connects a young housewife to an old man in the dusk of his life as they build a fantasy world together through notes in the lunchbox. Gradually, this fantasy threatens to overwhelm their reality.
Directed By: Ritesh Batra
Written By: Vasan Bala, Ritesh Batra
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 28 Critic Reviews
76
93% Positive
26 Reviews
26 Reviews
7% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 28 Critic Reviews
76
93% Positive
26 Reviews
26 Reviews
7% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Kaur and Khan, who was robbed of a IIFA nod, scarcely share a frame of The Lunchbox, yet the emotional connection of their characters is palpable.
A crowd-pleasing import that would leave only the most steadfast curmudgeon unmoved.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 61 User Ratings
8.0
90% Positive
55 Ratings
55 Ratings
5% Mixed
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
5% Negative
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 61 User Ratings
8.0
90% Positive
55 Ratings
55 Ratings
5% Mixed
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
5% Negative
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
It's the small things and minute details in the movie which makes it so beautiful and real.
"Sometimes even the wrong train takes you to the right destination."
Report
The Lunchbox is a first feature for director Ritesh Batra, but it nicely captures the almost overwhelming crush and noise of contemporary India, and it plays cleverly and delicately with the tension of whether its two correspondents might eventually meet. Theirs is one "virtual" romance that has nothing to do with social media.
The debut creation of director Ritesh Batra, it’s a lovely little film from a place where the little things linger.
The patience in mercurially presenting the characters' backstories and desires is matched by the film's genuine curiosity about the healing power of sharing stories.
This long-distance love story is comfort food in any language, perfectly agreeable and unlikely to surprise.
First-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.
Irrfan plays an accountant named Saajan Fernandez, based in Mumbai, who has been working day and night for years on files that now line his desk in hordes. His life is essentially as dry as the pencil lines he draws on paper while managing numbers. Having food from a restaurant during the lunch break; having a cigarette right before getting on the Mumbai local after work; reaching home to packed food from a restaurant, again; and finally smoking one more time before calling it a day - are things that Fernandez's day from the start to finish. Until one day, he gets a lunch box which is not his. A little mix-up leaves him with a lunch box packed with homemade food. One can tell. Nimrat Kaur plays Ila, a housewife and a mother. She cooks scrumptuous dishes that she hope will revive the magic between her husband and her. Only one day she realises the lunch box didn't reach her husband. And, so, begins the ritual of little notes resting atop a pile of 'rotis' in the lunch box. New hope - that holds a secret promise - springs up in both Fernandez's and Ila's lives. What ensues between these two characters is something that can't be given a tag - the relationship is too delicate for that to happen. It's almost as if the movie never ends. You walk out of the movie hall and the film continues with you. How it ends changes with your life experience. The Lunchbox is the best indian movie of the year. A sweet and absorbing drama from start to finish.
Report
Beautifully acted; at times, poetic. But ultimately deeply sad. especially for the women. One gets the feeling that the men, however bumbling or foolish, will eventually come out okay. But the women, including the auntie character who you never see, the mother of the young neglected wife (who is the star) and the girlfriend of the young man who will take over Mr. Fernandez' job. All these women seemed ultimately unhappy and beholden to their men; with their downcast eyes which spoke volumes. The neglected wife has dreams which I felt would never be fulfilled. When she sells her jewelry, there's a sense of foreboding. Earlier in the film she reads a news story of a young woman who jumps off a building with her daughter. I can't help but feel this is somehow connected strongly to the story. So sad.
Report
Rarely an Indian film without its trademark dancing-and-singing routines, director/writer Ritesh Batra’s feature debut marvellously utilises the exotic “dabbawalas” system of Mumbai, which is an intricate lunch delivery service to people at work from their their homes or restaurants and is remarkable for its accuracy, but Batra fictionalises a little mix-up of the system and links two strangers into an epistolary communication, and from there, their penfriend-ship will further sublimate into something more genuine and profound.
keep reading my review on my blog, please google: cinema omnivore, thanks!
Report
“The Lunchbox” is an Indian film starring Irrfran Khan and Mimrat Kaur. Directed by Ritash Batra. The film got rave reviews from the major papers and periodicals as well as some word of mouth recommendations from people we know. The question I must ask is “why?” This is one of those films where a great idea is executed poorly, mostly because of the poor writing and the illogical circumstances that take place and the difficulty in trying to follow exactly what the characters are and will be doing. In spite of a few dozes during the film, I was sorry to see the credits come on so rapidly because it left me in the cloud of not knowing how the characters resolve or don’t resolve their issues. I give the film a 6 and hope that those who do see it will get more out of it than I did.
Report
Production Company
Sikhya Entertainment,
DAR Motion Pictures,
National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC),
Asap Films,
Rohfilm,
Cine Mosaic,
Aide au cinéma indépendant - Canada (ACIC),
Arte France Cinéma,
Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée (CNC),
Dharma Productions,
Institut François Mitterand,
Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg,
Ministère des Affaires étrangères et du Développement International,
Nittin Keni Creations,
UTV Motion Pictures
Release Date Feb 28, 2014
Duration 1 h 44 m
Rating PG
Tagline Can you fall in love with someone you have never met?
Awards
Apsara Film Producers Guild Awards
• 3 Wins & 10 Nominations
Asia-Pacific Film Festival
• 3 Wins & 7 Nominations
Filmfare Awards
• 3 Wins & 6 Nominations
