THE LUNCHBOX World Cinema

Ila is an unfulfilled Mumbai housewife who yearns to regain the affections of her inattentive husband, patiently concocting a warm lunch for him to enjoy at work. Through a mix-up with the delivery service, the meal ends up at the desk of Saajan (played by the quietly authoritative Irrfan Khan), an isolated accountant on the verge of retiring. Upon consuming the meal, he experiences feelings of joy and relief. With the mistake realized, the lonely pair begin a correspondence, sending handwritten letters with more lunches, bringing warmth into each other’s lives and revealing their innermost secrets. Ritesh Batra’s debut feature is an intimate, heartfelt and authentic study on the fragility of human connection in which every gesture has meaning; each frame is carefully composed.  Like the exquisite meals served in the film, THE LUNCHBOX is a crowd-pleaser realized with vulnerability, compassion and care.