There is magic in cinema, undeniably so. Everyone who goes
to the movies knows this and experiences it. The most common item on the wish list
of every individual sometime or the other has been the ‘want and ability’ to be
invisible yet present in the lives of other people and watch them go about
their motions. There is power in this simple voyeurism. We are treated to one
such. Ritesh Batra, the director here takes us on a magical ride of watching
three separate souls going about their lives at the mere price of a ticket. It
is money well worth spent and how.
The Lunchbox is a simple tale very well told. As we remove the lid, with the separate tiers and compartments the tale opens out in its many
layers and nuances. It’s a sensual movie, strictly not in the commonly
understood meaning of the word, but in the manner in which it embraces your every
sense. It heightens the sensations, inadvertently
tickles your funny bone and engages cerebrally with a feel last seen in the 70’s
when Hrishikesh Mukherjee, and the two Basu's were making their movies. We have in
Ritesh Batra , a genuine claimant to the large vacant spot left by these
unassuming giants of middle cinema.
It is a Bombay story, a story of lives in constant
motion. The lifeline of this city is effectively captured in two systems that
transport men and material to their places of work and home. The local trains
of Mumbai and the system of the dabbawala’s (the lunchbox couriers). The
dabbawaala system is a widely known case study in Harvard University for its
six sigma efficiency of a network of largely semi-literate people. They were feted
by the Prince of Wales and invited for the Royal Wedding of his son. But that’s
by the by, as one lunchbox sent by a young housewife in suburban Malad, Ila ( Nimrat Kaur
) falls outside this bell curve of efficiency and lands on the table of Saajan
Fernandes (Irfaan Khan); a curmudgeonly claims clerk in some government
department on the verge of retirement. And then unfolds a story of charming
proportions. This honest mistake is perpetuated by the similar external
wrappings of the box and a lonely housewife’s lovingly cooked food gets gobbled up clean by
the widower subsisting on mass catered canteen fare. Both realize their mistake
but persist in this culinary adventure and find comradeship. It highlights
the plight of the lonely in large populated cities that are hungry for the
simple things in life, a kind word, a shoulder, a person to talk to, to be understood and
understand. Into this milieu steps in a third character Shaikh ( Nawazuddin Siddiqui) as an
understudy to Saajan to take over after he retires. He is the pesky, sticky
colleague who unnecessarily gets personal and familiar till one gets to know his
story. It’s a tale of Ila & Saajan who unburden their inner thoughts to
each other through notes in a dabba. The tale is also of Shaikh, an orphan making his way alone in his worklife; In his own way he too is hungry for
acceptance and a camaraderie that he looks for from Saajan. In all of this the
people seek and hope for happiness, in a crowded city where the closest can be
very far and by a quirk of fate find that a mistake can actually turn out and make things come out right.
The performances are excellent. Irfaan is a superlative
actor and can stand up to be counted in the pantheon of India’s finest. His
eyes express in a manner best articulated by the Marathi poet Kavi Grace in these lines
“Shabdatun Artha Umagava (From the word emerges a meaning)
Arthaatun Shabda Vagalata” (And then the meaning does not require
the very word it emerged from)
He says it all and without many words too.
Nimrat Kaur is a find for cinema, her face is very familiar
from the various commercials and stage shows she has done. As a performer she
comes into the film honed, intelligent, beautiful and bringing to the character
of Ila a rare honesty, integrity and balance that is a fitting footage share
with an actor of the caliber of Irfaan. It’s no mean achievement for a first
film.
Nawazuddin Siddiqui is totally believable, and like a chameleon fits into
every part he accepts colouring it with shades making Shaikh an important
element of this story. A lesser actor would not have done. The other notable
performance is of Bharati Acharekar, an actor who is not seen on screen we only
hear her voice. It is through the crisp homilies, suggestions and interactions
with Nimrat that she visually fleshes out her part and it’s a masterful angle
in the script. Lilette Dubey comes in a part that could well have been edited
out and really adds nothing to the interplay of the others; even the children
around Irfaans house convey a lot more. About the technicians, the Food
Designer who has created the Lunchboxes visually deserves a pat, even without
Irfaan the food looks delicious onscreen to cause a rumble in my stomach.
Niharika Khans apparel design is spot on and the dabbawala’s who were to be the
primary subject of Ritesh’s documentary, become the system through which he
conveys this tale. Yet as the promos said it is not a story of love (that was
marketing), it is a story of communication, unlikely friendship and finding a
confidante with whom you resonate.
I love the idiom of cinema the way it is panning out with
newer voices emerging telling tales that though rooted in India can be
understood by a global film viewer with ease. Zoya Akhtar, Farhaan Akhtar,
Kiran Rao, and now Ritesh Batra are directors who are world citizens and great
storytellers. The variety of the 70’s is coming back into Hindi Cinema and
augurs exciting times ahead.
