Im so glad that good and unusual films are being made. Not run of the mill but actually 'different'! Very out of the box and very unconventional, though with the times and thought provoking all the same. The movie in one go, focusses on as well as throws light on so many different issues, some of which are monotony of a married life, the drudgery of daily living, a typical city life, little nuances of life, impact of 'good food', blossoming of unlikely relationships in the most uncanny ways, supportive neighbours adding spice (punn intended!) to a boring, mundane life, making tough bold decisions at the crossroads of life and many more.
What fabulous casting and brilliant performances! Irfan Khan is an actor par excellence. Give him any role and the man never disappoints. If only expressions can speak a thousand words, this man personifies it so so beautifully! The dilemna of the character at different stages, wonderfully portrayed! There is a scene where this person that he plays comes to terms with his age, gracefully and with so much wisdom. One of the most outstanding scenes in the movie for me because thats kind of a turning point in the film. His interaction with the children in his locality, so 'real' and yet so amusing, not in a 'in your face' kind of way. The journey with a co- worker which begins with avoidance and cold shouldering and eventually leads to genuine concern, covering up for and 'being there'!
Nawazzudin, one of the best actors in this generation, plays his role so effortlessly, from being a pesky, annoying colleage to someone who shows depth, persistence, practicality and to do whatever it takes to achieve that he has set out to.
Nimrat Kaur, who I have seen perform on stage often holds the film together as she is the central character and the story revolves around her. She has played the super efficient home maker plus mother plus superwoman so well. The ease with which she accepts( matter of factly!) that her husband is having an affair, shows boldness and risk taking behaviour without being bothered about what will come of it, refusing to continue in a stale marriage, challenging the notion that a woman has to take everything in her stride.
Highlights of the film for me were, for starters the "subtlety" of the scenes, where so much is projected without actually saying it. Two scenes that stood out in this area were one, where the daughter just stares at her mother without saying a word and her expression gives away how she disapproves of her mother leaving the tap on and wasting water, while yapping away with 'deshpande' aunty and the second scene, where a small girl shows her fondness or lack of it towards Irfans' character by leaving her living room window open/ closed. The other bits are, the efficiency and systems of the 'dabbawallas', the daily humdrum, the camaraderie between "deshpande" aunty( who is never shown in the film, u can only hear her voice!) and the housewife, the scene where she tells deshpande aunty to play the saajan soundtrack and why or when 'deshpande' aunty tells the housewife to put too much spice in the food and why! All these and more make the movie so endearing and memorable. A scene where a mother warns her daughter on how to go about protecting herself in the rains by very matter of factly telling her to steer clear from trees, flyovers etc because they tend to fall in the rains!!! Hilarious! Another scene where the housewife is at her wits' end trying to explain to the dabbawala that the dabba is not being delivered to the right person/place and he argues back with pride and conviction that no one can fault the dabbawalas and their systems, and this fact has been endorsed by none other than the Queen and Harvard! And last but not the least, the eternal and undying charm of simple, sweet, heartfelt exchanges on notes of paper between total strangers.
A sweet simple story which has its heart and soul in the right place and which has characters who face real, believable, day to day struggles and dilemnas. Some connections and relationships are beyond time, age, conditioning, norms and hypocrisy of society. This movie is about such a connect which forms purely because sometimes the wrong train leads you to the right destination, used metaphoriaclly here ofcourse! The climax of the movie is left to our own interpretation! And being the eternal optimist that I am, no prizes for guessing what I took as the end of the film. ( U would know once u have seen it!) A must watch for admirers of good, unconventional cinema! May there be many more such films.
What fabulous casting and brilliant performances! Irfan Khan is an actor par excellence. Give him any role and the man never disappoints. If only expressions can speak a thousand words, this man personifies it so so beautifully! The dilemna of the character at different stages, wonderfully portrayed! There is a scene where this person that he plays comes to terms with his age, gracefully and with so much wisdom. One of the most outstanding scenes in the movie for me because thats kind of a turning point in the film. His interaction with the children in his locality, so 'real' and yet so amusing, not in a 'in your face' kind of way. The journey with a co- worker which begins with avoidance and cold shouldering and eventually leads to genuine concern, covering up for and 'being there'!
Nawazzudin, one of the best actors in this generation, plays his role so effortlessly, from being a pesky, annoying colleage to someone who shows depth, persistence, practicality and to do whatever it takes to achieve that he has set out to.
Nimrat Kaur, who I have seen perform on stage often holds the film together as she is the central character and the story revolves around her. She has played the super efficient home maker plus mother plus superwoman so well. The ease with which she accepts( matter of factly!) that her husband is having an affair, shows boldness and risk taking behaviour without being bothered about what will come of it, refusing to continue in a stale marriage, challenging the notion that a woman has to take everything in her stride.
Highlights of the film for me were, for starters the "subtlety" of the scenes, where so much is projected without actually saying it. Two scenes that stood out in this area were one, where the daughter just stares at her mother without saying a word and her expression gives away how she disapproves of her mother leaving the tap on and wasting water, while yapping away with 'deshpande' aunty and the second scene, where a small girl shows her fondness or lack of it towards Irfans' character by leaving her living room window open/ closed. The other bits are, the efficiency and systems of the 'dabbawallas', the daily humdrum, the camaraderie between "deshpande" aunty( who is never shown in the film, u can only hear her voice!) and the housewife, the scene where she tells deshpande aunty to play the saajan soundtrack and why or when 'deshpande' aunty tells the housewife to put too much spice in the food and why! All these and more make the movie so endearing and memorable. A scene where a mother warns her daughter on how to go about protecting herself in the rains by very matter of factly telling her to steer clear from trees, flyovers etc because they tend to fall in the rains!!! Hilarious! Another scene where the housewife is at her wits' end trying to explain to the dabbawala that the dabba is not being delivered to the right person/place and he argues back with pride and conviction that no one can fault the dabbawalas and their systems, and this fact has been endorsed by none other than the Queen and Harvard! And last but not the least, the eternal and undying charm of simple, sweet, heartfelt exchanges on notes of paper between total strangers.
A sweet simple story which has its heart and soul in the right place and which has characters who face real, believable, day to day struggles and dilemnas. Some connections and relationships are beyond time, age, conditioning, norms and hypocrisy of society. This movie is about such a connect which forms purely because sometimes the wrong train leads you to the right destination, used metaphoriaclly here ofcourse! The climax of the movie is left to our own interpretation! And being the eternal optimist that I am, no prizes for guessing what I took as the end of the film. ( U would know once u have seen it!) A must watch for admirers of good, unconventional cinema! May there be many more such films.
