The Lunchbox

<p>Ila ( ) is a young seeking the attention of her husband, Rajeev ( ), and searching for ways to bring the romance back into her marriage; one of her ideas is to cook delicious for him. Through a rare mix-up of the (a complicated system in that picks up and delivers lunches from or homes to people at work), the ( ) Ila prepares for her husband gets accidentally delivered, instead, to Saajan Fernandes ( ), a middle-aged who is about to retire from his job of an . Ila eventually realises the mistake and with the advice of her neighbour aunt, Mrs. Deshpande ( – voice only), living in the above her, writes a to Saajan about the mix-up and places it in the lunchbox (along with her husband’s favourite meal) the next day. An exchange of letters sent back and forth with the lunches ignites a friendship between the two, as they share memories and events from their own lives. At work, Saajan is tasked with training his replacement, Aslam Shaikh ( ). Socially distant after his wife’s death, Saajan is initially reluctant to interact with Shaikh and train him. After Shaikh reveals that he is an who taught himself , Saajan gradually warms up to him, and eventually the duo strike a close friendship. At one point, Saajan saves Shaikh’s job by covering for his blatant mistakes and becomes the best man at his marriage with Mehrunissa ( ). Meanwhile, Ila discovers that Rajeev is having an and gives up hope of rekindling her marriage. In one of the lunchbox letters, she suggests moving to where the cost of living is much cheaper than . Saajan writes back with the suggestion that the two move there together. Ila then offers to meet in person at a popular restaurant but at the appointed time, Saajan does not show up. Upon receiving an empty lunchbox in disappointment the next day, Saajan writes back to the dejected Ila and apologises to her, stating that he did arrive and watched her from a distance, but could not approach her. He explains how young and beautiful she looked, while surmising that he is too old for her and advising her to move on. Some time later, Ila’s father, battling , dies in the care of her mother ( ), who confesses how unhappy her marriage was. She gives Ila the advice “Sometimes, the wrong train takes us to the right station”. Ila receives the address of Saajan’s office from the only to learn from Shaikh that he has already retired and headed to . She writes a farewell message to Saajan announcing that she has decided to leave Rajeev and move to Bhutan with her young daughter, Yashvi. Meanwhile, Saajan changes his mind en route to Nashik and returns to Mumbai. The film ends with Ila waiting for Yashvi to return from school and Saajan heading to her house with the who regularly picked up and delivered the lunchbox. Ritesh Batra, who had made the short films , and , , started researching a documentary on the famous Lunchbox delivery system of Mumbai which is known for its efficiency, however after spending a week with them in 2007, he heard many interesting personal stories the workers would overhear while waiting outside apartments. This experience birthed the idea for the film, and instead of making a documentary, he began writing a film script. In time the film became a joint production between Sikhya Entertainment, , (NFDC), India, ROH Films, Germany, ASAP Films, France and the Cine Mosaic, a production company based in New York City and founded by who had previously produced films such as (1999) and (2007). Germany’s became its international sales agent. Batra completed the first draft of the screenplay in 2011. He was assisted by Rutvik Oza. It went on to win an Honorable Jury Mention at the 2012 Cinemart at the . Thereafter the project was part of the Talent Project Market of and was mentored at the screenwriter’s lab (Torino Film Lab) at the . The character of Ila played by Nimrat Kaur, six months prior to the shooting, and the character played by Nawazuddin Siddiqui was further developed and improvised during shooting. Irrfan Khan liked the script of the film and the concept of his character, not speaking much but talking through notes. After seeing Batra’s short film and having a couple of meetings he agreed to act in the film. Batra wanted to work with Nawazuddin Siddiqui, another principal character in the film, for a long time. For the female lead, auditions were conducted, wherein Nimrat Kaur was selected. Kaur had extensive experience at the Mumbai theatre and had worked in films like . Some of the whom the director befriended while researching the film were also cast in minor roles. The film was shot in 2012 in Mumbai at a budget of 220 million. Prior to the filming, the cast rehearsed for six months. It was shot using the digital film camera. Many of the scenes were logistically broken down to make way for last minute location changes. According to Ritesh Batra, scenes on the train involved the use of only one compartment, and even included actual local commuters when needed. Principal photography lasted 29 days, with a majority of the film’s scenes done in three weeks. Afterwards, footage taken in a documentary manner were shot. Mumbai’s famous were provided actual lunchboxes to deliver, and followed by a four-member film crew, which filmed the process in documentary style. The film was screened on 19 May 2013 as a part of the at the , where it received a standing ovation and positive reviews. It won the Critics’ Week Viewers Choice Award also known as Grand Rail d’Or. called it “a notable debut from tyro helmer-scripter Ritesh Batra”, for creating a film with the “crossover appeal of “, and also praised the acting of Irrfan Khan and Nimrat Kaur. Thereafter, picked up North American distribution rights. In India, this film was released on more than 400 screens on 20 September 2013. In Japan, a Japanese dubbed version of the film was released on 9 August 2014, screening in a hundred theaters. grossed ₹71 million in its first weekend of release in India, and ₹110 million in its first week. The film continued to gross significant amounts over the next few weeks, earning over ₹200 million in the first three weeks and another estimated ₹40–50 on its fourth weekend. In the United States, grossed $4.23 million, and was 2014’s third highest grossing foreign film behind and . By 28 May 2014, the film’s worldwide collection was . The film’s total worldwide gross for the original Hindi version was ( ). Most of its gross was from overseas with ( ) for the Hindi version, becoming 2013’s third after and . It was Irrfan Khan’s highest-grossing , up until it was surpassed by (2017). The Japanese dubbed version, released later in 2014, screened in a hundred theaters for ten weeks. The film grossed over ( or ) in Japan. Combined, the Hindi and Japanese versions grossed an estimated ( ) overseas and ( ) worldwide. received widespread critical acclaim from both critics and audiences. On the website , 97% of 120 critics’ reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.7/10. The website’s consensus reads: “Warm, affectionate, and sweet but not cloying, is a clever crowd-pleaser from first-time director Ritesh Batra.” , which uses a , assigned the film a score of 76 out of 100, based on 28 critics, indicating “generally favorable” reviews. Critic of gave the film a rating of 5/5 stating, “The greatest love stories are the ones that make you root for the protagonists to come together, despite their destinies. This film illustrates how love transforms the unlikeliest of people.” of gave two thumbs up calling it “as much a moving and muted love story as it is an evocative portrayal of loneliness.” of gave the movie a 4/5 rating, stating “A well-told old-fashioned romance, gracefully unknots the trials, tribulations, fears and hopes of everyday people sans the glamour that the city of Mumbai has become synonymous with.” of also gave the film a perfect 5/5 saying the film was, “one of the best films to come out of India in a long time.” of also praised the film, giving it 5/5 and offering particular compliments to the director Ritesh Batra, stating “Batra, who has also written , has allowed his smashing actors tremendous room to improvise, all the while himself sketching in nuanced details about the city, its food-ferriers, and the many disparities Mumbai is crammed with.” Filmmaker/critic of the said “What stays in the mind at the end of is pretty much what stays in mind at the end of a memorable set by jazzmen – not their lapses but the heights they scale.” Aditya Grover of gave it 4 out of 5 stars and said, ” is delicious and delightful! If you’re in the mood to witness genuinely moving cinema, you’re in for a treat. The delectable taste of this lunchbox remains in your mouth much after you’ve left the theatre. Go for it!” Suparna Sharma of gave it 4 out of 5 stars and said: ” is a gently pulsating sweet-sad story of loneliness and love, of wilting spirits finding water again. There are three women in three marriages in this film, of which two are ailing. The third one is over, almost, only the last rites haven’t been performed. There are two men in the film – one who has lived a full life and is getting ready to quietly slip off the face of the earth; the other is eager to begin… What’s both shocking and soothing is what the film shows us — that it takes very little for a soul to come back to life. Mostly, just a hint of hope will do.” Trisha Gupta in the wrote ” is a lovely little film. But it does tick all the boxes that might appeal to festival audiences: quaint Asian urbanism (Mumbai trains, dabba delivery), Indian home-cooking, romance. It provides local colour, without being demandingly untranslatable.” In a less positive review for the , J. R. Jones criticized the film’s premise as a gimmick and its purported use of an “irritating comic foil” in reference to Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s and Bharati Achrekar’s characters as Shaikh and Mrs. Deshpande, respectively. was considered by many people to be a lock as India’s selection for the , with many critics enthusiastically praising it and voting for it to serve as India’s nomination. Director also put his support behind the film saying “All kinds of audience can connect with it and yet within the parameters of love story it is completely unusual. You feel all the love in the world for the protagonists and the unusual aspect of it is they haven’t met.” However, the selection committee of the (FFI) deliberated on 17 September 2013 and decided to send the instead. This decision sparked outrage from many supporters of , including its cast and crew. The film’s producer quickly took to and expressed his disgust, saying “I don’t know who the Federation is, but it goes to show the complete lack of understanding to make films that can travel across borders.” He later deleted both his Twitter and accounts, saying, “this is a moment of defeat for me, and for independent cinema, because, for once, our chances were great.” Karan Johar also said he felt very disappointed that such a wonderful chance at Oscar glory with was spoiled. , other producer, said she was flabbergasted as to how the Federation could select a movie that didn’t even have an American distributor, and also listed the number of global festivals and appreciation her film received, concluding that it sadly and supposedly “wasn’t enough for the FFI”. In an interview with of , , the chairman of the committee blamed the decision on the media and a backlash based on the hurt pride of the selection committee, revealing: Personally I liked [ ] very much. But eventually the eighteen member jury supported . Now I can say that some people from Bombay felt that the basic premise of was wrong. Because the Dabbawala never do such mistakes. Films are after all works of fiction, with the right to cinematic liberty! Although was my personal favourite, but as a chairman one should not impose his or her choice on others. And as you know this became suddenly a big controversy. And I think the media was again to some extent responsible for this decision. Because every day during the deliberation or the screenings, the media projected as the chosen one. It’s my assumption, that the members probably thought, “My God! If the media has already taken the decision then why we are here?” It was a Chomskian ‘ ‘ – , , every day!! So the members, who are all very important people from the industry, had an opposite impulse. I don’t know, but maybe that’s the way it happened. Once it had been submitted to the Oscar selection committee, that committee did not nominate, nor shortlist, ; that year’s Academy Award winner was Italy’s . A musical adaptation based on the film is currently in development. It was commissioned by Lincoln Center Theater and will feature songs co-written by The Lazours. Ritesh Batra is adapting his own script and co-writing lyrics. In April 2025, it was announced that would direct the world premiere of the musical at , with an opening in May 2026.</p>