With
the hype around debutant writer-director, Ritesh Batra’s film, The Lunchbox, it is unlikely that it
would not ring a bell even with cinema novices. After garnering rave reviews
over film festivals, and from being touted to represent India in the Oscars, to
a Gujarati film snatching the coveted place, this one has done the rounds and
how! I think we all are aware of the
unreal expectations such hype builds-up, often leading to disappointments. But
not this one. This quiet little film will have you in grips from the very first
scene as a home-maker volleys through her morning chores. And as the story
unfolds, you will find the little surprises tucked cleverly like the ‘lunchboxes’
she craftily prepares.
The
first few minutes of the film skillfully present the long distance
a dabba travels from the kitchen to
the desk of its intended recipient. But although the writer-director claims to
have been inspired by the dabbawallas (lunch
box delivery men) of Mumbai, the premise of this story is the people who rely
on them. The film
revolves around a grumpy widower, Saajan Fernandez, ably played by Irrfan Khan,
who is nearing his retirement in a government job. A man of few words, his only
after-office exercise is to watch television. And a stay-at-home mother, Ila
(played by Nimrat Kaur),of a school-going girl, whose life is defined by the
lunchboxes she prepares for her husband day-after-day, and her relationship
with the well-meaning aunty who lives above her – her only window to a social
life. The only instance that promises a spark in her life is when her
meticulously prepared lunchbox accidently gets delivered to Mr. Fernandez by
the dabbawalla, leading to exchange
of remarks on the food, to exchange of information about each other’s lives, to
sharing of dreams and their empty lives. In an interesting turn of events, they
dreamily plan a visit to Bhutan, both acutely aware of the impossibility of its
fate, and wonder what it would be like to have ‘Gross National Happiness’ in
their lives like in Bhutan!
Nimrat
Kaur is stellar in her role of a woman whose life is falling apart, with a
thankless and disloyal husband, a dead brother, an ailing father and a helpless
mother. But none of these require ‘shouting-from-roof-top’ that can be expected
from most of our films. For instance, it only takes a whiff off the shirt of
her husband while doing laundry to learn about her strayed marriage which she
later divulges in a very matter-of-fact way to Saajan. Again, in another scene,
Saajan talks about how he has started smelling like his grandfather - a hint at
his aging body. The third wheel in the film, Shaikh, played by Nawazuddin Siddiqui, is the incorrigibly nagging newbie in the office, who is to take over
from Saajan. Shaikh is endearing in his initial failed attempts at befriending Saajan
and it is a delight to watch their friendship blossom during the course of the
film.
This
film is a slice of life presented in a deliciously unhurried pace and with
utmost restraint. It captures the steely loneliness of the life of a metropolis
like that of Mumbai’s, but its open end leaves one hopeful. In this fast paced
life it is heart-warming to bump into something which is so delicate and charmingly
old world like this simple love story. A line in the film that captures its
essence aptly is: "Sometimes even the wrong train can take you to the
right destination." Though this movie is far from going wrong in any
department, it arrives in the right station and is here to stay. The vignettes
of Mumbai in its cluttered flats and the local train are likely to remind you
of Dhobi Ghaat. In this light, both
films can be seen as an ode to Mumbai, yet they are so much more that just
that.
This film is a must watch for your
own sake, it will touch you in the right places and have you recommend it to
the next person you get hold of.
Published in The Thumb Print Magazine
No comments:
Post a Comment