Too many 'poignant moment' spoiler alerts to count. Don't read this if you haven't watched the movie and want to 'really' watch it.
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So The Lunchbox came out of nowhere, got fancy eyeballs, got press, then it got Johar and Kashyap, it got marketing pesos, it got bigger dreams (Best Foreign Film Oscar big), and then it deflated a bit when it didn't get nominated for the Oscars.
It went from being aww-Daaavid to being 'it's-overhyped'.
I swore I'd see it, and I did. Once. It's been some time since so what remains with me are moments and not a full 120 min brain DVR.
Let me put it this way -- It's art house cinema for hard masala addicts used to mainlining Chunnai Express and Dhoom 3 (may their tribe wither), but it's delectable fare for those who like their cinema mildly spiced.
Mildly Spiced believes it was one of the nicest movies to come out in 2013. It's neither pungent nor cloyingly sweet. The flavors come in waves, linger, and then recede. Indeed, they make space for a new development and set up a new emotion. The moments...stay.
Batra allows us a few seconds for the emotions to set in and keeps room for our interpretations too. That is pretty amazing for a rookie Director.
Let's not do a linear review of the story. Lot of people do that for a living. I don't want to snatch another man's livelihood.
What did I like? In random order (contrary to my consulting training of having some logical order to lists)...
1) Bharti Achrekar's acting - You know the lady who lives on the floor above (or a few floors above) Ila? The voice? Aunty -- Mrs. Deshpande? That's her, and she's a well known TV and movie actress. The wonderful thing was that I could her imagine her face and her expressions whenever she delivered a dialogue. That's powerful stuff, being able to create such vivid mental imagery.
It's wonderful how powerfully her character has been fleshed out without ever showing her. So much of her personality is conveyed by her actions (like the instance when she casually mentions that she was busy changing her husband's diaper) or the fact that she had installed a generator so that the fan never ever stops whirring.
2) The notes are a high point. Especially, the notes from Irrfan/Sajaan are abrupt, emotionally void, disconnected, and often unintentionally funny. Ila's messages, on the other hand, are poignant and communicate much for she appears to have many thoughts and emotions to share, but none to share them with.
3) Irrfan Khan has so much to give as an actor and he gives a good deal of himself to this role. He said the role weighed heavily on him for (in his words) it makes a man old to act an old man's character. Irrfan looks old. He looks tired...weary. He seems not to care, and yet he cares when this young man, Nawaz, comes by to inherit his role.
As a food lover, I believe that food can excite many strong emotions inside a person. To see him polish off every dabba, whether it be too salty or spicy, tells the story of a man who has no one to care for him and cook for him with love, and has come to terms with a mediocre dabba as his life's default.
The food and Ila's messages arouse a younger man inside Saajan, and Saajan appears to perk up in spirit if not in body.
These are all changes that Irrfan conveys expertly.
4) Nawaz's role is almost an unnecessary role. One would argue that it can be completely done away with, but he brings a playful vitality, and an uncommon poignancy to Shaikh's character. I feel certain that Shaikh's character was a much smaller role in the original script. Nawaz's acting expanded the scope to do more as the shooting moved on.
5) Nimrit Kaur's is an unexpectedly good performance. She could have so easily brought down a good movie. A few lousy scenes from her and the spell of the movie would be broken. But she conveys all that Ila is -- lonely, vulnerable, seeking companionship and love, strong, giving. She can look ordinary as the woman sitting to start the laundry, and she can look wonderfully radiant when she is going to meet the man that she thinks she is falling in love with.
6) Without saying much about technique, for I am not a technical man in this area, Batra has done a stellar job with writing and directing this story. He has given his actors space to do their thing, and he has felt comfortable leaving pauses and open ends in the story. That is creditable for the natural instinct is to close loops and open ends.
He also deserves kudos for developing Mrs. Deshpande's character.
For these things and more (that I haven't mentioned), Lunchbox is definitely a Mildly Spiced pick. And it helped that Ila's food looked finger-lickin goood!
Here's to more food-themed movies with a heart for the dabba always holds something special for the aching empty belly.
---
So The Lunchbox came out of nowhere, got fancy eyeballs, got press, then it got Johar and Kashyap, it got marketing pesos, it got bigger dreams (Best Foreign Film Oscar big), and then it deflated a bit when it didn't get nominated for the Oscars.
It went from being aww-Daaavid to being 'it's-overhyped'.
I swore I'd see it, and I did. Once. It's been some time since so what remains with me are moments and not a full 120 min brain DVR.
Let me put it this way -- It's art house cinema for hard masala addicts used to mainlining Chunnai Express and Dhoom 3 (may their tribe wither), but it's delectable fare for those who like their cinema mildly spiced.
Mildly Spiced believes it was one of the nicest movies to come out in 2013. It's neither pungent nor cloyingly sweet. The flavors come in waves, linger, and then recede. Indeed, they make space for a new development and set up a new emotion. The moments...stay.
Batra allows us a few seconds for the emotions to set in and keeps room for our interpretations too. That is pretty amazing for a rookie Director.
Let's not do a linear review of the story. Lot of people do that for a living. I don't want to snatch another man's livelihood.
What did I like? In random order (contrary to my consulting training of having some logical order to lists)...
1) Bharti Achrekar's acting - You know the lady who lives on the floor above (or a few floors above) Ila? The voice? Aunty -- Mrs. Deshpande? That's her, and she's a well known TV and movie actress. The wonderful thing was that I could her imagine her face and her expressions whenever she delivered a dialogue. That's powerful stuff, being able to create such vivid mental imagery.
It's wonderful how powerfully her character has been fleshed out without ever showing her. So much of her personality is conveyed by her actions (like the instance when she casually mentions that she was busy changing her husband's diaper) or the fact that she had installed a generator so that the fan never ever stops whirring.
2) The notes are a high point. Especially, the notes from Irrfan/Sajaan are abrupt, emotionally void, disconnected, and often unintentionally funny. Ila's messages, on the other hand, are poignant and communicate much for she appears to have many thoughts and emotions to share, but none to share them with.
3) Irrfan Khan has so much to give as an actor and he gives a good deal of himself to this role. He said the role weighed heavily on him for (in his words) it makes a man old to act an old man's character. Irrfan looks old. He looks tired...weary. He seems not to care, and yet he cares when this young man, Nawaz, comes by to inherit his role.
As a food lover, I believe that food can excite many strong emotions inside a person. To see him polish off every dabba, whether it be too salty or spicy, tells the story of a man who has no one to care for him and cook for him with love, and has come to terms with a mediocre dabba as his life's default.
The food and Ila's messages arouse a younger man inside Saajan, and Saajan appears to perk up in spirit if not in body.
These are all changes that Irrfan conveys expertly.
4) Nawaz's role is almost an unnecessary role. One would argue that it can be completely done away with, but he brings a playful vitality, and an uncommon poignancy to Shaikh's character. I feel certain that Shaikh's character was a much smaller role in the original script. Nawaz's acting expanded the scope to do more as the shooting moved on.
5) Nimrit Kaur's is an unexpectedly good performance. She could have so easily brought down a good movie. A few lousy scenes from her and the spell of the movie would be broken. But she conveys all that Ila is -- lonely, vulnerable, seeking companionship and love, strong, giving. She can look ordinary as the woman sitting to start the laundry, and she can look wonderfully radiant when she is going to meet the man that she thinks she is falling in love with.
6) Without saying much about technique, for I am not a technical man in this area, Batra has done a stellar job with writing and directing this story. He has given his actors space to do their thing, and he has felt comfortable leaving pauses and open ends in the story. That is creditable for the natural instinct is to close loops and open ends.
He also deserves kudos for developing Mrs. Deshpande's character.
For these things and more (that I haven't mentioned), Lunchbox is definitely a Mildly Spiced pick. And it helped that Ila's food looked finger-lickin goood!
Here's to more food-themed movies with a heart for the dabba always holds something special for the aching empty belly.
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