Viewing: February 15,2025
Watch Trailer
Director: Ritesh Batra
Cast: Irrfan Khan, Nimrat Kaur
Awards: Grand Rail d'Or - Cannes Film Festival
“The Lunchbox…nicely captures the almost overwhelming crush and noise of contemporary India, and it plays cleverly and delicately with the tension of whether its two correspondents might eventually meet.” — Bob Mondello, NPR
About the film
The city of Mumbai’s lunchbox delivery system – a complexly-orchestrated system whereby hundreds of thousands hot lunches are delivered to workers all throughout the city every day – is well-known for its efficiency. However, in a rare mix-up, a lunchbox is accidentally delivered to the wrong person with the consequence of connecting two lonely people together in friendship.
Ila (played magnificently by Nimrat Kaur) is a housewife who seeks to rekindle the romance of a failing message by cooking delicious meals for her husband, including lovely notes in the meal tins, and having the food delivered to him at work. However, one of the meals is mistakenly delivered to Saajan (played by the late-great award-winning actor Irrfan Khan), a middle-aged widower who is unhappy in his work and his life. When Ila realizes the error, she reaches out to Saajan, thus initiating a back-and-forth correspondence between the two through which they discuss the details of their less-than-satisfied lives and wonder if they might be happier together instead. When a planned face-to-face meeting between them falls through, the fantasy is threatened. However, they may just end up together in the end.
All members of the Athens community are welcome – Admission is FREE but tickets are required.
Claim tickets in person at The Athena or by clicking the showtime link below.
“Friends of India” will provide Indian snacks and Chai during intermission.
To learn more about the Ohio University’s Friends of India Endowment visit their website here
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