The Lunchbox
The Lunchbox is a 2013 drama film written and directed by Ritesh Batra. Produced by Guneet Monga, Anurag Kashyap and Arun Rangachari, The Lunchbox is an international co-production of studios in India, the US, Germany and France. It stars Irrfan Khan and Nimrat Kaur alongside Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Bharti Achrekar and Nakul Vaid in supporting roles. The Lunchbox was screened at International Critics' Week at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, and later won the Critics Week Viewers Choice Award also known as Grand Rail d'Or. It was shown at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival. The film was released in theatres in India on 20 September 2013. The Lunchbox was a box-office success and received unanimous critical acclaim. It was Khan's highest-grossing Hindi film, until it was surpassed by Hindi Medium (2017). The Lunchbox was nominated for Best Film Not in the English Language at the 2015 British Academy Film Awards. Plot 

In Mumbai, Ila is a young wife seeking her husband Rajeev's attention. She tries to put romance back into her marriage by cooking delicious lunches for him. However, when she tries to send the lunchbox to his office, the dabbawala system which is to deliver his lunch has a mix-up, and the lunchbox accidentally reaches Saajan Fernandes instead. Saajan is a widower who is about to retire from his accountancy job. When Ila realises the mistake she writes a letter to Saajan informing him of the mix-up and places it in the lunchbox the next day. An exchange of messages between Ila and Saajan via the lunches thus ensues, igniting a friendship between the two, as they share memories and events from their lives. At his job, Saajan is tasked with training his replacement Aslam Sheikh. Socially distant after his wife's death, Saajan is initially reluctant to interact with Sheikh and train him. After Sheikh reveals that he is an orphan who taught himself accounting, Saajan gradually warms to him; eventually the duo strike a close friendship. At one point, Saajan saves Shaikh's job by covering for his blatant mistakes and becomes his best man at his marriage. Meanwhile, after Ila finds out that Rajeev is having an affair, she gives up hope on rekindling her marriage. In one of the lunchbox letters, she suggests moving to Bhutan where the cost of living is much cheaper than in India. Saajan writes back suggesting that the two move there together. Ila then offers to meet in person at a popular restaurant but at the appointed time, Saajan does not show up. Upon receiving an empty lunchbox on the next day, Saajan writes back to the dejected Ila and apologises to her, saying that he did arrive and saw her from a distance but could not approach her. He explains how young and beautiful she looked, while surmising that he is too old for her and advising her to move on. Some time later, Ila's father, battling with lung cancer, dies in the care of her mother who confesses how unhappy her marriage was. Ila gets the address of Saajan's office only to learn from Sheikh that he has already retired and headed to Nashik. She writes a last 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 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 dabbawala who regularly picked up and delivered the eponymous lunchbox. 