Film Review: THE LUNCHBOX

The film calls out to your heart!

Cast: Irrfan Khan, Nimrat Kaur, Nawazuddin Siddiqui
Director: Ritesh Batra

I had seen and heard a number of rave reviews for this film. Venkat and I went to catch it on Tuesday night at Cinemax Sion.

To be truthful, I love the glitz and glamour in Bollywood films and very rarely see realistic ones. I am not very fond of Irrfan Khan either while I agree that he is a great actor. I have not seen many of his movies.

THE STORY

Ila (Nimrat Kaur) makes her husband’s dabba with a lot of love and effort and is very eager to please. Unfortunately, the dabba with her newest recipes lands up in the hands of Saajan Fernandez (Irrfan Khan) who works in the claims department of a government office. Fernandez is widowed and is about to retire. He usually gets his dabba from a local restaurant and is surprised to taste the delicious meal.

After a couple of days, Ila realises that the dabba is being delivered into wrong hands. She sends a note along with it. That’s how the connection begins. She is lonely and so is he.

MY PERCEPTION

The heartrending scene of life in a metropolis like Mumbai hits one while watching the film. It is so sad that a person can feel so lonely in such a crowded city. But that is the story of the widowed Fernandez. He is also ‘khadoos’ by nature, works hard and has no friends.

Only Irrfan Khan can play the role to such perfection.

Nimrat Kaur as Ila has also done an excellent job as the lonely housewife. The letters the two of them write to one another via The Lunchbox is what keeps the film going. It would have been difficult to talk to one another in person. But putting things in a letter seems that much easier.

The relationship between the two is beautifully built through these letters. And one can so relate to the way the film ends, while not necessarily be happy about it.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui is a superb actor and he adds some humour to the serious film.

It gladdens one heart as one sees the letters bringing about a change in the protagonists’ lives. Fernandez is shaken out of his indifference to the people around him while Ila decides to leave her cheating husband.

The neighbour’s voice from the above floor adds value to the film. Ila’s little daughter speaks barely a few words, but her eyes say it all.

The film ran for an hour and 49 minutes, was just the ideal length and well edited by John F. Lyons.

VERDICT: A must watch!

RATING: **** ½ (A little short of super)

*Silly
**Shaky
***Smart
****Snazzy
*****Super  

Film Review: KAHAANI

One more feather in Vidya Balan's cap!

Cast: Vidya Balan, Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Saswata Chatterjee, Indraneil Sengupta, Nawazuddin Siddiqui
Director: Sujoy Ghosh

The film was released on March 9 and I got to watch it only on April 1. It was more out of choice. In fact, Venkat had already seen it and came along with me to watch it a second time. I was rather reluctant believing that the film may be violent. But the call of Vidya Balan finally won me over and I went to watch it. Am I glad!

THE STORY:

A bio-chemical weapon is used to wipe out all the travelers in one compartment of a Kolkata Metro. The police are unable to trace the terrorists responsible for this.

Two years later, a very pregnant Vidya Venkatesan Bagchi (Vidya Balan) arrives in Kolkata from London. She directly goes to the police station to lodge a complaint about her missing husband Arnab Bagchi (Indraneil Sengupta). Arnab had arrived in Kolkata a couple of months ago and had been in touch with his wife for a few days before he stopped calling. After that, he had gone missing – it seems without a trace, as Vidya finds out.

Young Police Officer Satyoki Sinha aka Rana (Parambrata Chattopadhyay) helps her a lot as he feels sorry for the pregnant woman with a missing husband. Vidya goes to the company Arnab had been contracted to work for and later to the hotel he had been staying in. She draws a blank at every point. It seems that Arnab had never been in Kolkata. But he had arrived there and spoken to her many times over the phone. Are things as they should be? Where is Arnab? Is he alive or dead?

MY TAKE ON IT:

Better late than never, I thought as I watched this thriller. Vidya Balan has done an excellent job of playing the pregnant lady in search of her missing husband. Then, giving a great performance is a regular habit with Vidya. Kudos yet again!

Parambrata Chattopadhyay as Rana has done an equally good job as he has the next biggest role to play in the film. Congratulations!

Nawazuddin Siddiqui as the rude Intelligence Bureau Agent Khan and Saswata Chatterjee as the innocent faced paid assassin Bob Biswas were both too good.

The film had a great story, excellent script with a perfect director at the helm. Sujoy Ghosh has reeled out a superb film that keeps you hooked till the end. And over and above, the movie was less than a couple of hours.

Amitabh Bachchan croons a very cute song in the film that fits in very well – in between and as the credits roll. It sounds wonderful!

The only thing that rankled was the idea of a fully pregnant woman – at least 8 months pregnant – undergoing those gymnastics that Vidya did. That just cannot be possible. If a real woman had done what the character did in the film, she would have delivered on the roadside. And Vidya does spend a couple of weeks there that take her further into her pregnancy. I am taking away half-a-star for this reason.

VERDICT: Don’t miss the film.

RATING: ****1/2 Super (almost)

* Silly
** Shaky
*** Smart
**** Snazzy
***** Super

Official website: www.kahaanithefilm.com