Rotten Tomatoes

Movies / TV

    Celebrity

      No Results Found

       View All       Movies Tv shows Shop News Showtimes

      The Lunchbox

      PG Now Playing 1 hr. 45 min. Drama Romance List
      97% 122 Reviews Tomatometer 87% 10,000+ Ratings Audience Score Lonely housewife Ila (Nimrat Kaur) decides to try adding some spice to her stale marriage by preparing a special lunch for her neglectful husband. Unfortunately, the delivery goes astray and winds up in the hands of Saajan (Irrfan Khan), an irritable widower. Curious about her husband's lack of response, Ila adds a note to the next day's lunchbox, and thus begins an unusual friendship in which Saajan and Ila can talk about their joys and sorrows without ever meeting in person. Read More Read Less Now in Theaters Now Playing Buy Tickets

      Where to Watch

      The Lunchbox

      In Theaters Fandango at Home Prime Video Apple TV

      Rent The Lunchbox on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV.

      The Lunchbox

      What to Know

      Critics Consensus

      Warm, affectionate, and sweet but not cloying, The Lunchbox is a clever crowd-pleaser from first-time director Ritesh Batra.

      Read Critics Reviews

      Audience Reviews

      View All (450) audience reviews
      Georgan G An unusual and delightful film that opens the main characters' heart. Each feels alone but we watch as sharing brings about deeper understanding of personal responsibility. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 08/16/23 Full Review Bobby J Exceptional epistolary romantic movie starring Irrfan Khan(Saajan Fernandez) and Nimrat Kaur(Ila), threading love, despair and hope through misplaced lunchboxes,set up in Bombay. Story and direction done by debutant Ritesh Batra while Anurag Kashyap and co are part of the production. Navazuddin Siddique did excellent performance. Movie is of top quality art content, philosophies, strong story element which emphasizes plain emotions, great frames, excellent literature elements. Irrfan plays the role of a boring old widowed insurance officer while Nimrat Kaur is of a perturbed mind trying to impress her husband, to finally find her husband is in another affair. Thereafter, the story plots instance by instance where Irrfan and Nimrat ends up planning to elope to Bhutan, but director leaves the conclusion open to the viewers to decide. Overall, I liked the movie. Mostly, if love story well put, I like them. Some people dont. I loved the beauty of reading small chits of one line love letter send back and forth. Top dialogues: "kabhi kabhi galti train se sahi jaga pohenchthi hein"|"nobody buys yesterday's lottery ticket" The movie was well received by critics, media and box office. It stunned people world wide, even a Japanese dubbed version was released. Won many awards across, how ever sparked controversy in the India on not getting selected for Oscar submission: Anurag Kashyap even deleted his social media handles in the rage. Apparently, it was Marendra Nodis friends movie which got selected that year, as usual that movie was not meeting the basic criteria too. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 05/13/23 Full Review Scott L I loved this film. It's very topical for me at the stage of life I'm in so I connected deeply with the themes. Beautiful. I had no idea of it's existence and was drawn into it by wonderful story telling and film making. This is what makes movies beautiful. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/01/23 Full Review isla s A very silly, eccentric/surreal type comedy watch from the Monty Python team, this is well worth a watch. Some scenes, I felt, worked better than others but there were enough funny moments to keep me entertained regardless. I particularly enjoyed the stoning scene and ones where John Cleese's character gets very wound up! (no change there then referencing Fawlty Towers et al). I also liked the over the top/shrill tone of voice used for some characters. Its silly and entertaining, with the usual Monty Python opening titles, with words in lumps of stone falling around and things. I'd recommend this film. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 05/13/23 Full Review William L I probably would have liked The Lunchbox quite a bit more in the moment if the version I ended up seeing did not have terribly translated subtitles; when the characters speak English the poor quality of the transcription really showed. But that's hardly the fault of anyone involved in the actual production, so I'll try to be as fair as I can having seen this film through what feels like a thick pane of glass. The Lunchbox uses a classic formula (two lonely people brought together by innocuous chance) and puts a bit of a twist on it, keeping the characters physically separated and moving from comedic territory to more of a subdued dramatic feel as Irrfan Khan' Saajan and Nimrat Kaur's Ila develop a relationship by sharing the emotional hardship of their relatively monotonous, everyday lives. There isn't much in the way of a whirlwind romance with giddy excitement and a sweep-off-your-feet moment, but instead a more restrained passion as both characters find in each other someone to open up to about problems that they had relegated to their inner thoughts as the result of loneliness; their respective presence forms something of a light in the darkness towards which each character cautiously crawls. The film earns its status as a film well beyond what could have been a standard (albeit creative and sweet) romcom premise. Ultimately the film touches on quite a bit of sincere territory - unfulfilled ambition, societal expectations, lovelessness, aging, kindness and friendship; it all proceeds with resolute but unrushed pacing and comes together quite well. A very nice romantic film that hasn't really received much attention in Europe or the United States since a very positive reception at Cannes in 2013. (3.5/5) Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 05/13/22 Full Review kevin c Tom Hanks plays the iconic Mr Rogers in the film based on the true story of a cynical journalist played by Matthew Rhys who is tasked to write a profile on Mr Rogers by his employer. What transpires is the melting of his cold skeptical wall and is slowly shown by Rogers how kindness effects peoples lives. Very well acted and a lovely story you can't help but smile through. Beautiful film. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

      Cast & Crew

      Show Less Cast & Crew Show More Cast & Crew

      More Like This

      View All Movies in Theaters
      41% 46% Saawariya 80% 62% Cairo Time 83% 68% Bright Star 85% 83% Sweet Land 29% 65% New Life TRAILER for New Life Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

      Movie News & Guides

      View All Movie News & Guides

      This movie is featured in the following articles.

      Five Essential Irrfan Khan Movies Critics Consensus: Non-Stop is a Bumpy Ride

      Photos

      View All The Lunchbox photos

      The Lunchbox

      Nimrat Kaur as Ila in "The Lunchbox." Irrfan Khan as Saajan in "The Lunchbox." (L-R) Nawazuddin Siddiqui as Shaikh and Irrfan Khan as Saajan as "The Lunchbox." Nawazuddin Siddiqui as Shaikh in "The Lunchbox." Nimrat Kaur as Ila in "The Lunchbox." (L-R) Irrfan Khan as Saajan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui as Shaikh in "The Lunchbox." Nimrat Kaur as Ila in "The Lunchbox." Irrfan Khan as Saajan in "The Lunchbox." Irrfan Khan as Saajan in "The Lunchbox." (L-R) Nimrat Kaur as Ila and Yashvi Puneet Nagar as Yashvi in "The Lunchbox." View more photos

      Critics Reviews

      View All (122) Critics Reviews
      Namrata Joshi Outlook Batra brings out the humdrum of his characters' lives with little deft touches. Rated: 3/4 Dec 13, 2017 Full Review Shubhra Gupta The Indian Express Batra's characters are a delight. They may be of Mumbai, infused with intense desi flavours, but can inhabit any part of the world. Rated: 3.5/5 Dec 13, 2017 Full Review Roxana Hadadi Punch Drunk Critics This is a thoughtful little movie, one that benefits from its main performances and a nicely slow building romance. Rated: 4/5 Jan 6, 2017 Full Review Emiliano Basile EscribiendoCine ... While it doesn't bring anything new to the genre, it enticingly describes the flavor of life. [Full review in Spanish] Rated: 7/10 Jun 27, 2023 Full Review Joe Muldoon Battle Royale With Cheese A fantastic fusion of the culinary and epistolary, The Lunchbox is a reminder to us that love assumes many forms, and can be expressed in many ways. Jun 5, 2023 Full Review Anna M.M. Vetticad annavetticadgoes2themovies The Lunchbox is seemingly simple yet as complex as all human beings are. It’s sad yet throws up humour when you are least expecting it. It’s not larger than life, it’s just as large as life always is. This film is truly sensational. Rated: 4.5/5 Jan 15, 2023 Full Review Read all reviews

      Movie Info

      Synopsis Lonely housewife Ila (Nimrat Kaur) decides to try adding some spice to her stale marriage by preparing a special lunch for her neglectful husband. Unfortunately, the delivery goes astray and winds up in the hands of Saajan (Irrfan Khan), an irritable widower. Curious about her husband's lack of response, Ila adds a note to the next day's lunchbox, and thus begins an unusual friendship in which Saajan and Ila can talk about their joys and sorrows without ever meeting in person.
      Director
      Ritesh Batra
      Executive Producer
      Lydia Dean Pilcher, Irrfan Khan, Ritesh Batra
      Screenwriter
      Ritesh Batra
      Distributor
      Sony Pictures Classics
      Production Co
      Arte France Cinema, National Film Development of India, Sikhya Entertainment
      Rating
      PG (Thematic Material|Smoking)
      Genre
      Drama, Romance
      Original Language
      Hindi
      Release Date (Theaters)
      Feb 28, 2014, Limited
      Release Date (Streaming)
      Jul 1, 2014
      Box Office (Gross USA)
      $4.2M
      Most Popular at Home Now