If I were to summarize The Lunchbox in one word I would say
visual poetry. The movie is marked by its departure from anything we have seen
till now in Hindi movies. Be it the
style of execution or the story, the only thing that steals the show is subtlety.
In this movie silence speaks louder than any words uttered anywhere. Simple
gestures and expressions convey so much that it leaves you spellbound.
The story is a simple narrative of how two people meet(if
writing to each other counts as meeting at all) over a misplaced lunchbox and strike up a conversation. The film takes us through their
journey together as they become partners in loneliness. The widower Saajan and the lonely Ila sharing their
thoughts and emotions –makes the narrative of the movie.
Who thought that something
as trivial as an lunchbox could mean so much more to two people. And then again
what better way to express such emotions as the expression on Irrfan Khan’s
face when he smelt the lunchbox. The relief that washed over him when he got
the lunchbox as usual on the day when he feared the worst ( having heard of a
lady jumping to her death with her kid from a high-rise, he feared that the
lady was Ila) was something you could completely identify yourself with. Simple
words, simpler emotions expressed simply make the mark on one and all.Irrfan
Khan proves his mettle as an ace actor once again. The furtive glances all
around before opening the letter , the eagerness to open the lunchbox and read
the letter all get conveyed via expressions and leaves no doubt in your mind that
words are but noise, our eyes and emotions are expressive enough. Then again
Nawazuddin Siddique also does his share by playing the talkative bluff master
who charms his way to being an accountant without proper degree or knowledge.
You can completely identify with his plight when he requests Irrfan Khan to withhold
the fact that he has not got promotion from his father in law since that would
require him to return the bike that his father in law gave him on the occasion
of his promotion He plays the charmer in every way, bluffing and impressing
even the indifferent Irrfan Khan so much
that they end up sharing his treasured lunch.
The new actress on the block Nimrat Kaur also makes a
mark.Her trials and tribulation as a housewife trying to make the way to her husband’s
heart through his stomach is something everyone can identify with.The
distraught wife going to her mother on realizing that her husband is having an
affair and letting go of it all when her duty as a daughter requires her to
play along with her husband for the treatment of her father makes you cringe in your seat.The lonely
housewife concluding that happiness awaits her in Bhutan where there is Gross National
Happiness instead of Gross Domestic Product( which she comes to know from her
school going daughter),the disillusioned housewife wondering what went though
the mind of the lady who committed suicide by jumping from the topmost floor of
her building with her kid and the subtle expressions on her face when she
listens to songs of Sajan(yes! That is also the name of Irrfan Khan’s character
in the movie) all give away the talent in her.
I could go on and on about how each frame makes a point in
its own way.How each moment is brought to life by a single sweep of the
camera,an expression here and a sigh
there—it all makes you optimistic that Indian cinema has indeed finally come to
age.
N.B-could not help mentioning the artistic poster as
well.One image saying so much…it does make a mark on you.
