The Lunchbox

If you thought the packed lunch was an institution in Norway, try taking a trip to Mumbai. The dabbawallahs deliver hundreds of thousands of lunchboxes on a daily basis, and the system is considered to be one of the most efficient and accurate in the world. Mathematicians have found the failure rate to be less than one in six million deliveries. Still, something has to go wrong sooner or later. This is the starting point for one of the funniest and most heart-warming surprises of the year. Saajan Fernandez (Irrfan Khan) is a disillusioned widower about to retire from his job as an accountant. When he gets the wrong lunch by mistake, his life takes an unexpected turn. Through notes hidden under the rotis he gets to know Ila (Nimrat Kaur), a young woman trapped in a dead-end marriage. Two lost souls communicating through a lunchbox. It’s strange, it’s funny, it’s the feel-good film of the year. kf

Gala screening at Ringen Cinema Friday 11th October at 9 pm.

The Lunchbox is Indian director Ritesh Batra’s feature film debut. He is based in Mumbai and New York, and has received international acclaim as a script writer and short film director. His short film Café Regular, Cairo won 12 awards internationally and was aquired by the Franco-German TV company Arte.