Box of wonders - The lunch box of Ila.

The Lunch Box, directed by Ritesh Batra, is one of the finest Indian drama films. Irrfan Khan and Nimrat Kaur, in the lead, played the character of Saajan Fernandes and Ila. The film is totally about these two characters and how they communicate between them. The story is about how Saajan and Ila become friends after the lunch box from Ila was mistakenly delivered to Saaajan by Dabbawala (Food carrier service). Empty lunch boxes returning home make Ila happy that she would think her husband ate everything. But later, she finds that her husband didn't eat what she cooked and packed for the day. After several occurrences, she finds that the lunch box is mistakenly sent to another person. On the other side, Saajan thanked the mess for delivering such delicious food for the day. But later, he understood that someone had sent the lunch box after receiving a letter from Ila. In that way, their communications start to roll on. Ila's characterization delivers a state of mind related to every woman - an ambiguity that sticks with every household woman. Ila's life seems to be very plain, and we can understand that her relationship with her husband is not getting so well where her life sticks to the preparation of food for her family and spending most of her time in the household. Saajan's character resembles an ordinary man who loses her wife and stand-alone in his life. The true loneliness and his wish to live what life gives are things that everyone can easily relate to. 

What if these two strangers' life gets together in the communication of a letter through a mistakenly delivered lunch box? A simplistic form of the storyline and narrative style is provided through the screenplay. Spending lots of budgets and crafting a film with a lame storyline is an awkward promise made in the film industry. This film breaks the stigma, spending less budget, and crafting a film that speaks out lots of emotions and delivers life on the front line is appreciable. 

Capturing life and giving out such great importance to subtle emotions is unseen in today's commercial cinema. Lunch Box does a beautiful job of creating the impact of showcasing human emotions. Irrfan Khan plays a sublime staging over the sequence and delivers a spell-bound performance and too Nimrat Kaur. She points over the neatly designed characterization of Ila, where there are many niches to be carried on, and she does it with less effort. The character of Shaikh, played by Nawazuddin Siddiqui, is something very special to this film. Shaikh represents a robust approach toward life, and he seems to be very underlying in his interpretation of life. He quickly gets connected to the audience, and he won't be easily missed in this film. Nawazuddin enables a true sense of dramatic liberty to the film, his screen presence appeals as realistic and authentic. Saajan and Shaikh mean a lot to this story, and their relationship gets gentle after some time. The life he lives and the way he interacts with Saajan show how gentle the character is. The overall writing of this character is well-written and nicely done. On the side of Ila, the no-appearance role of Auntie gives a new touch to the film. The character doesn't get to perform on-screen, yet it makes us feel through typical neighborhood dialogues. Ila's conversation with her looks typical and friendly. 

Ila needs someone to share her side of her feelings, but their communication through letters develops at some point, and she shares her life's events. Those letter scenes look gratifying to the audience - someone is there for someone - but it relies on time and purpose towards life. A slight change in the life of Saajan and Ila gives a sense for their communication, and time makes them not meet. The relationship between them gets on a balancing mode, yet the screenplay and story keep the factor of relationships between the characters subtly. The ending is given to the audience's perspective, which is very needed for a drama like this. Every story does not require a proper reason, yet this film ends on a thin line of possibility and how the characters realize the true sense between them. 

The life inside this film is simple yet touches million hearts. The subtle dramatic screenplay and realistic direction of Ritesh Batra make it watching a meaningful art. This film is minutely intense in its way of script. The cinematography gets close and closes with each shot. Frames are close, and that makes the characters get close to us. Every angle makes meaning in it, showcasing a true sense of reality. The montage of Mumbai, Dabbawala, and the livelihood of people is incredible to see. Also, music gives a little touch to the film with a gradual way of scoring. The film is such a great piece of meaningful art and has to be celebrated by everyone. Saajan, Ila, and Shaikh will touch the thin thread of sense within us for sure. 

"Sometimes the wrong train takes you to the right destination."