Film No. 51 (2014) The Lunchbox July 28th .

Film No. 51 (2014) July 28th. 8.50 PM LUNA SX Fremantle. 

The Lunchbox

Mumbai is one of the largest, most chaotic cities in our modern world. The Lunchbox takes us into the hustle and bustle of that chaos then cleverly channels us into the hearts of two gentle citizens who meet in a Sliding Doors moment as they conduct an unconventional relationship.

The beautiful Ila (Minrat Kaur) wishes to spice up her marriage. She prepares lunch for her inattentive husband using the recipes conveyed to her via her faceless auntie who shouts advice from the floor above Ila's kitchen. The freshly prepared lunches are delivered daily, usually, as legend would have it, in a meticulous fashion. You guessed it, on this occasion Ila's lunch is mistakenly delivered to Saajan (Irrfan Khan), a widower, working in an insurance claims office.

The relationship begins when Ila and Saajan exchange letters using the lunchbox as a postal service. Their exchanges are both revealing and gentle. It's a clever director who can make two characters charismatic in equal proportions despite them rarely sharing a scene together. It helps when Ritesh Batra writes the screenplay, his first feature length film as both a writer and director.

While many explanations go unanswered; ie how the mixup could happen or what the true feelings of Ila's husband are, we rarely care. Even if you don't like film but love to travel, see The Lunchbox for a sense of urban India. If someone asks me if I've been to Mumbai my answer will be " No, but I've seen The Lunchbox".  9GUMS