The Lunchbox
The Lunchbox | |
---|---|
Directed by | Ritesh Batra |
Written by | Ritesh Batra |
Produced by |
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Starring |
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Cinematography | Michael Simmonds |
Edited by | John F. Lyons |
Music by | AKFPL The Match Factory Rohfilm ASAP Films Arte France Cinema Medienboard Berlin Brandenburg Aide Aux Cinemas Du Monde CNC Ministre Des Affairs Etrangeres Insituit Francais |
Distributed by | UTV Motion Pictures (India) Sony Pictures Classics (North America)[1] NFP Marketing & Distribution (Germany)[2] Happiness Distribution (France)[2] |
Release dates |
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Running time | 105 Minutes |
Countries | India United States Germany France |
Languages | Hindi English |
Budget | ₹22 crore[3] |
Box office | ₹110 crore (est.) |
The Lunchbox is a 2013
The Lunchbox was screened at
Plot
Ila (
to Saajan about the mix-up and places it in the lunchbox (along with her husband's favorite meal) the next day. An exchange of the messages sent back and forth with the lunches ignites a friendship between the two, as they share memories and events of their own individual lives.At work, Saajan is tasked with training his replacement, Aslam Sheikh (
Sometime later, Ila's father, battling with lung cancer, dies in the care of her mother (Lillete Dubey), who confesses how unhappy her marriage was. Ila receives the address of Saajan's office only to learn from Sheikh that he has already retired and headed to Nashik. She writes a farewell message to Saajan announcing that she has decided to leave Rajeev and move to Bhutan with her young daughter. Meanwhile, Saajan changes his mind en route to Nashik and returns to Mumbai. The film ends with Ila waiting for her daughter to return from school and Saajan heading to her house with the dabbawalas who regularly picked up and delivered the eponymous lunchbox.
Cast
- Irrfan Khan as Saajan Fernandes
- Nimrat Kaur as Ila Singh
- Nawazuddin Siddiqui as Aslam Shaikh, Saajan's colleague
- Lillete Dubey as Ila's mother
- Nakul Vaid as Rajiv Singh, Ila's husband
- Bharati Achrekar as Mrs. Deshpande a.k.a. "Auntie", Ila's neighbour (voice only)
- Yashvi Puneet Nagar as Yashvi Singh, Ila & Rajiv's daughter
- Denzil Smith as Mr. Shroff, Saajan's office boss
- Shruti Bapna as Mehrunissa, Shaikh's wife
Production
Development
Ritesh Batra, who had made short films, The Morning Ritual, Gareeb Nawaz Ki Taxi and Cafe Regular, Cairo, started researching for a documentary on the famous Lunchbox delivery system of Mumbai,
Writing
Batra completed the first draft of the screenplay in 2011.[5] He was assisted by Rutvik Oza.[8] It went on to win an Honorable Jury Mention at the 2012 Cinemart at the Rotterdam International Film Festival. Thereafter the project was part of the Talent Project Market of Berlin International Film Festival and was mentored at the screenwriter's lab (Torino Film Lab) at the Torino Film Festival.[7] The character of Ila played by Nimrat Kaur, six months prior to the shooting, and the character played by Nawazuddin Siddiqui was further developed and improvised during shooting.[5]
Casting
Irrfan Khan liked the script of the film and the concept of his character, not speaking much but talking through notes. After seeing Batra's short film and a couple of meetings he agreed to act in the film. Batra wanted to work with Nawazuddin Siddiqui, another principal character of the film, for a long time. For the female lead, auditions were conducted, wherein Nimrat Kaur was selected. Kaur had extensive experience at the Mumbai theatre and worked in films like Peddlers.[5][7] Some of the dabbawalas whom the director befriended while researching for the film, also were cast in minor roles.[4]
Filming
The film was shot in 2012 in Mumbai
Principal photography lasted 29 days, with a majority of the film's scenes done in three weeks. Afterwards, footage taken in a documentary manner were shot. Mumbai's famous dabbawalas were provided actual lunchboxes to deliver, and followed by a four-member film crew, which filmed the process in documentary style.[7][10][11]
Release and reception
Screenings and film festivals
The film was screened on 19 May 2013 as a part of the Critics' Week at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, where it received a standing ovation and positive reviews.[12][13][14] It won the Critics' Week Viewers Choice Award also known as Grand Rail d'Or.[15] Variety called it "a notable debut from tyro helmer-scripter Ritesh Batra", for creating a film with "crossover appeal of Monsoon Wedding", and also praised acting of Irrfan Khan and Nimrat Kaur.[16]
Thereafter, Sony Pictures Classics picked up all North American rights for distribution.[6]
In India, this film was released in more than 400 screens on 20 September 2013.[17][18] In Japan, a Japanese dubbed version of the film was released on 9 August 2014, screening in a hundred theaters.[19]
Box office
The Lunchbox grossed ₹71 million in its first weekend of release in India,[17][20] and ₹110 million in its first week.[21] The film continued to gross significant amounts over the next few weeks, earning over ₹200 million in the first three weeks and another estimated ₹40–50 lakhs on its fourth weekend.[22]
In the United States, The Lunchbox grossed $4.23 million, and was 2014's third highest grossing foreign film behind
The Japanese dubbed version, released later in 2014, screened in a hundred theaters for ten weeks. The film grossed over ¥150 million ($1.42 million or ₹8.7 crore) in Japan.[19] Combined, the Hindi and Japanese versions grossed an estimated $13.1 million (₹81.3 crore) overseas and ₹110 crore (US$19 million) worldwide.
Critical reception
The Lunchbox received widespread critical acclaim from both critics and audiences alike. On the
Critic
Trisha Gupta in the Sunday Guardian wrote "The Lunchbox is a lovely little film. But it does tick all the boxes that might appeal to festival audiences: quaint Asian urbanism (Mumbai trains, dabba delivery), Indian home-cooking, romance. It provides local colour, without being demandingly untranslatable."[39] In a less positive review for the Chicago Reader, J. R. Jones criticized the film's premise as a gimmick and its purported use of "irritating comic foil" in reference to Nawazuddin Siddiqui's and Bharati Achrekar's characters as Shaikh and Mrs. Deshpande, respectively.[40]
Oscar selection controversy
The Lunchbox was considered by many people throughout the year to be a lock as India's selection for the 86th Academy Awards Best Foreign Film Category, with many critics enthusiastically praising it and voting for it to be the representative film.[41] Director Karan Johar also put his support behind the film saying "All kinds of audience can connect with it and yet within the parameters of love story it is completely unusual. You feel all the love in the world for the protagonists and the unusual aspect of it is they haven't met."[42]
However, the selection committee of the Film Federation of India (FFI) deliberated on 17 September 2013 and decided to send the Gujarati film The Good Road instead.[43] This decision sparked outrage from many supporters of The Lunchbox, including its cast and crew. The film's producer Anurag Kashyap quickly took to Twitter and expressed his disgust, saying "I don't know who the Federation is, but it goes to show the complete lack of understanding to make films that can travel across borders."[44] He later deleted both his Twitter and Facebook accounts, saying, "this is a moment of defeat for me, and for independent cinema, because, for once, our chances were great."[45] Karan Johar also said he felt very disappointed that such a wonderful chance at Oscar glory with The Lunchbox was spoiled.[46] Guneet Monga, The Lunchbox's other producer, said she was flabbergasted as to how the Federation could select a movie that didn't even have an American distributor, and also listed the number of global festivals and appreciation her film received, concluding that it sadly and supposedly "wasn't enough for the FFI".[47][48][49]
In an interview with Siddharth Sivakumar of Tinpahar, Goutam Ghose, the chairman of the committee blamed the decision on the media and a backlash based on the hurt pride of the selection committee, revealing:
Personally I liked The Lunch Box [sic][a] very much. But eventually the eighteen member jury supported The Good Road. Now I can say that some people from Bombay felt that the basic premise of The Lunch Box was wrong. Because the Dabbawala never do such mistakes. Films are after all works of fiction, with the right to cinematic liberty! Although Lunch Box was my personal favourite, but as a chairman one should not impose his or her choice on others. And as you know this became suddenly a big controversy. And I think the media was again to some extent responsible for this decision. Because every day during the deliberation or the screenings, the media projected Lunch Box as the chosen one. It's my assumption, that the members probably thought, "My God! If the media has already taken the decision then why we are here?" It was a Chomskian 'manufacturing consent' – Lunch Box, Lunch Box, Lunch Box every day!! So the members, who are all very important people from the industry, had an opposite impulse. I don't know, but maybe that's the way it happened.[50]
Once it had been submitted to the Oscar selection committee, that committee did not nominate, nor shortlist, The Good Road; that year's Academy Award winner was Italy's The Great Beauty.
Accolades
Award[b] | Date of ceremony[c] | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Asia-Pacific Film Festival | 13 – 15 December 2013 | Best Film | Ritesh Batra | Nominated | [51] [52] |
Best Director | Nominated | ||||
Best Screenplay | Won | ||||
Best Actor | Irrfan Khan | Nominated | |||
Outstanding Achievement Award | Won | ||||
Best Actress | Nimrat Kaur | Nominated | |||
Best Supporting Actor | Nawazuddin Siddiqui | Won | |||
Asia Pacific Screen Awards | 15 December 2013 | Best Screenplay | Ritesh Batra | Won | [53] |
Jury Grand Prize
|
Won | ||||
Asian Film Awards | 27 March 2014 | Best Film | The Lunchbox | Nominated | [54] |
Best Actor | Irrfan Khan | Won | |||
Best Screenwriter | Ritesh Batra | Won | |||
British Academy Film Awards | 8 February 2015 | Best Film Not in the English Language | Nominated | [55] | |
Dubai International Film Festival | 6 – 14 December 2013 | Best Film – Feature | Anurag Kashyap, Arun Rangachari, Guneet Monga | Nominated | [56] |
Special Mention – Feature | Ritesh Batra | Won | |||
Best Actor – Feature | Irrfan Khan | Won | |||
Filmfare Awards | 26 January 2014 | Best Film (Critics)
|
Ritesh Batra | Won | [57] [58] |
Best Debut Director | Won | ||||
Best Story | Nominated | ||||
Best Supporting Actor | Nawazuddin Siddiqui | Won | |||
Best Editing | John F. Lyons | Nominated | |||
Best Sound Design | Michael Kaczmarek | Nominated | |||
Ghent International Film Festival
|
8 – 19 October 2013 | Canvas Audience Award | Ritesh Batra | Nominated | [59] |
Hong Kong Asian Film Festival | 25 October – 19 November 2013 | New Talent Award | Nominated | [60] | |
Critics' Week (Cannes Film Festival) | 15 – 26 May 2013 | Grand Rail d'Or (Viewers' Choice Award) | The Lunchbox | Won | [1] |
International Indian Film Academy Awards | 23 – 26 April 2014 | Best Actress in a Leading Role | Nimrat Kaur | Nominated | [61] |
Best Actor in a Supporting Role | Nawazuddin Siddiqui | Nominated | |||
Best Story | Ritesh Batra | Nominated | |||
London Film Festival
|
9 – 20 October 2013 | Best Film | Nominated | [62] | |
Oslo Films from the South Festival | 10 – 20 October 2013 | Best Feature Film | Nominated | [63] | |
Producers Guild Film Awards | 16 January 2014 | Best Film
|
Anurag Kashyap, Arun Rangachari, Guneet Monga | Nominated | [64] [65] |
Best Director
|
Ritesh Batra | Nominated | |||
Best Debut Director | Won | ||||
Best Story | Nominated | ||||
Best Screenplay | Nominated | ||||
Best Actor in a Leading Role | Irrfan Khan | Nominated | |||
Performer of the Year | Won | ||||
Best Actress in a Leading Role | Nimrat Kaur | Nominated | |||
Best Female Debut
|
Nominated | ||||
Best Actor in a Supporting Role | Nawazuddin Siddiqui | Won | |||
Reykjavík International Film Festival | 26 September – 6 October 2013 | Church of Iceland Award | Ritesh Batra | Won | [66] |
Screen Awards | 14 January 2014 | Best Film | Anurag Kashyap, Arun Rangachari, Guneet Monga | Nominated | [67] [68] |
Most Promising Debut Director | Ritesh Batra | Won | |||
Best Story | Nominated | ||||
Best Screenplay | Nominated | ||||
Best Actor | Irrfan Khan | Nominated | |||
Best Actress | Nimrat Kaur | Nominated | |||
Best Supporting Actor | Nawazuddin Siddiqui | Nominated | |||
Zee Cine Awards | 8 February 2014 | Best Debut Director | Ritesh Batra | Won | [69] [70] |
Best Story | Nominated | ||||
Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Male | Nawazuddin Siddiqui | Nominated |
See also
- Bollywood films of 2013
Notes
- ^ The article in Tinpahar chose to print the name of the titular object in the film as two words, Lunch Box, throughout the article. Also, beyond the first mention, Ghose dropped the The from the title as he discussed the film, though this is simply shortening during a discussion, not a misspeaking of the title. To avoid clutter, [sic] has not been included at all seven mentions in this quote.
- ^ Awards, festivals and organizations are in alphabetical order.
- ^ Date is linked to the article about the awards held that year, wherever possible.
References
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- ^ a b "Ritesh Batra's feature debut appeared in Cannes Critics' Week". Variety. 24 May 2013. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
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Really shocked and disappointed ....#LUNCHBOX had every factor working in its favour...we may have just lost our golden chance....SAD!!!
- ^ "Gunnet Monga Tweet #1". 20 September 2013.
Cannes, Telluride, Toronto, Sony was not enough for us the judge... I wish FFI success with their decision...!
- ^ "Guneet Monga Tweet #2". 20 September 2013.
@ankash1009 how do they even nominate a film without an american distributor... !!!
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