The Lunchbox

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.