The Lunchbox

Name: The Lunchbox
Genre: Drama, Romance
Released: February 28, 2014
Duration: 104 min
Rating: 76
Cast: Irrfan Khan, Lillete Dubey, Nimrat Kaur, Nowaz

2014

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 28 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Universal acclaim based on 59 Ratings

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8.1	User Score Universal acclaim based on 59 Ratings

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Movie Details & Credits

Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: February 28, 2014 | PG

Starring: Irrfan Khan, Lillete Dubey, Nimrat Kaur, Nowaz

Summary: A mistaken delivery in Mumbai's famously efficient lunchbox delivery system connects a young housewife to an old man in the dusk of his life as they build a fantasy world together through notes in the lunchbox. Gradually, this fantasy threatens to overwhelm their reality.

Director: Ritesh Batra

Genre(s): Drama, Romance

Rating: PG

Runtime: 104 min

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Critic Reviews

100

Steve Persall

Apr 1, 2014

Kaur and Khan, who was robbed of a IIFA nod, scarcely share a frame of The Lunchbox, yet the emotional connection of their characters is palpable. Read full review

Mary Houlihan

Mar 7, 2014

The Lunchbox,” Indian director Ritesh Batra’s debut, is a witty and perceptive film that reveals the hopes, sorrows and regrets of ordinary people. Read full review

Peter Rainer

Feb 28, 2014

The Lunchbox, the debut feature from Indian director Ritesh Batra, has such a sweet premise that I sincerely hope it doesn’t get remade with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. Read full review

Owen Gleiberman

Feb 27, 2014

It’s neorealist corn, but it gets to you. Read full review

Joe Williams

Apr 3, 2014

The debut creation of director Ritesh Batra, it’s a lovely little film from a place where the little things linger. Read full review

A.O. Scott

Feb 27, 2014

The comedy is more wry than uproarious, the melodrama gently poignant rather than operatic, and the sentimentality just sweet enough to be satisfying rather than bothersome. Read full review

Matt Maytum

Apr 7, 2014

First-time writer/director Ritesh Batra deserves credit for mining gently captivating drama from a pitch that could have just ended with passive-aggressive Post-its left on the office fridge. Read full review

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User Reviews

Thegodfatherson

Mar 8, 2014

Irrfan plays an accountant named Saajan Fernandez, based in Mumbai, who has been working day and night for years on files that now line his desk in hordes. His life is essentially as dry as the pencil lines he draws on paper while managing numbers. Having food from a restaurant during theIrrfan plays an accountant named Saajan Fernandez, based in Mumbai, who has been working day and night for years on files that now line his desk in hordes. His life is essentially as dry as the pencil lines he draws on paper while managing numbers. Having food from a restaurant during the lunch break; having a cigarette right before getting on the Mumbai local after work; reaching home to packed food from a restaurant, again; and finally smoking one more time before calling it a day - are things that Fernandez's day from the start to finish. Until one day, he gets a lunch box which is not his. A little mix-up leaves him with a lunch box packed with homemade food. One can tell. Nimrat Kaur plays Ila, a housewife and a mother. She cooks scrumptuous dishes that she hope will revive the magic between her husband and her. Only one day she realises the lunch box didn't reach her husband. And, so, begins the ritual of little notes resting atop a pile of 'rotis' in the lunch box. New hope - that holds a secret promise - springs up in both Fernandez's and Ila's lives. What ensues between these two characters is something that can't be given a tag - the relationship is too delicate for that to happen. It's almost as if the movie never ends. You walk out of the movie hall and the film continues with you. How it ends changes with your life experience. The Lunchbox is the best indian movie of the year. A sweet and absorbing drama from start to finish.… Expand

2 of 3 users found this helpful21

orkahhh

Apr 27, 2014

Very good film. With sensitive humour.
For a first time film it is very good. Every critics web site give to the film a very good note.
A true masterpiece.

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

sachineldho

Jun 4, 2019

It's the small things and minute details in the movie which makes it so beautiful and real.

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

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

EricaManfred

Jul 13, 2014

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Lovely movie. Two lonely people get to know each other through notes in a lunchbox sent to the wrong office. It was somewhat slow, but that gave it a sweet, contemplative rhythm, and the crowded street and subway scenes in Mumbai were a wonderful contrast to the isolation of the main characters. Best was Irrfan Kahn, a brilliant, soulful actor who lit up the movie with his expressive face. Next best--the Indian food. I loved the notion of a lunchbox from home with a bunch of different homecooked dishes. Wish I could get one of those delivered to me. No sandwiches here. What I hated: the ending. C'mon, the characters should have at least met--maybe not run off together, but the trains passing in the night ending was extremely frustrating.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

lasttimeisaw

Aug 15, 2015

Rarely an Indian film without its trademark dancing-and-singing routines, director/writer Ritesh Batra’s feature debut marvellously utilises the exotic “dabbawalas” system of Mumbai, which is an intricate lunch delivery service to people at work from their their homes or restaurants and isRarely an Indian film without its trademark dancing-and-singing routines, director/writer Ritesh Batra’s feature debut marvellously utilises the exotic “dabbawalas” system of Mumbai, which is an intricate lunch delivery service to people at work from their their homes or restaurants and is remarkable for its accuracy, but Batra fictionalises a little mix-up of the system and links two strangers into an epistolary communication, and from there, their penfriend-ship will further sublimate into something more genuine and profound.

keep reading my review on my blog, please google: cinema omnivore, thanks!… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

vikesh2206

Nov 23, 2014

Ritesh Batra's heartwarming solo endeavor 'The Lunchbox' is a powerfully acted, delicious dish sweetly served through an absorbing, small-scale tale that feels gleefully old-school.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

BHBarry

May 10, 2014

“The Lunchbox” is an Indian film starring Irrfran Khan and Mimrat Kaur. Directed by Ritash Batra. The film got rave reviews from the major papers and periodicals as well as some word of mouth recommendations from people we know. The question I must ask is “why?” This is one of those films“The Lunchbox” is an Indian film starring Irrfran Khan and Mimrat Kaur. Directed by Ritash Batra. The film got rave reviews from the major papers and periodicals as well as some word of mouth recommendations from people we know. The question I must ask is “why?” This is one of those films where a great idea is executed poorly, mostly because of the poor writing and the illogical circumstances that take place and the difficulty in trying to follow exactly what the characters are and will be doing. In spite of a few dozes during the film, I was sorry to see the credits come on so rapidly because it left me in the cloud of not knowing how the characters resolve or don’t resolve their issues. I give the film a 6 and hope that those who do see it will get more out of it than I did.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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