24 Sep 2014
Director: Ritesh Batra
India, France, Germany, US
2013
104 min
The Lunchbox combines vivid, bustling scenes of daily life in the teeming city of Mumbai with an unashamedly old-fashioned romantic story. Saajan is a soon-to-retire and world-weary office worker whose daily routine includes a lunchbox delivered to his desk by one of Mumbai’s famously efficient dabbawalas. When he begins to receive the wrong lunchbox containing unusually tasty home cooking, he is prompted to begin an unlikely romance with Ila, an unhappy housewife who prepares food intended for her husband. With subtle and understated direction, Ritesh Batra steers clear of sentimentality, delivers a rich and satisfying drama which lingers long after the closing credits and leaves us daydreaming about life in Bhutan, the world’s happiest place.