Dabba (2013)
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A series of misplaced lunchboxes leads to an unexpected exchange of letters between a lonely housewife and a widower.
The story
Ila, a young housewife seeking to rekindle romance in her marriage, prepares special meals for her husband. Due to a mix-up in the dabbawala delivery system in Mumbai, her lunchbox is delivered to Saajan Fernandes, a middle-aged widower about to retire. Upon discovering the mistake, Ila begins an exchange of letters with Saajan, tucked inside the tiffin carrier. As they share stories of their lives through these notes, a deep friendship develops between the two strangers who have never met in person.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Ila, a housewife, and Saajan, a widower, begin a correspondence via a misplaced lunchbox. While Saajan trains his replacement, Aslam, they form a bond of friendship. Meanwhile, Ila discovers her husband's infidelity and loses hope in her marriage. The two exchange letters discussing their lives and even consider moving to Bhutan together. However, a planned meeting fails to occur as Saajan feels too old for her. Following the death of her father, Ila decides to leave her husband and move to Bhutan with her daughter. Saajan, also reconsidering his path, returns to Mumbai. The film ends with the two characters moving toward a potential reunion as they are brought together by the same delivery system.
- First release year
- 2013
- Runtime (minutes)
- 105
- Production countries
- India; Germany; France
- Original languages
- Hindi; English
- Directors
- Ritesh Batra
- Writers
- Ritesh Batra · writer
- Cast and characters
- Irrfan Khan · Saajan Fernandes; Nimrat Kaur · Ila Singh; Nawazuddin Siddiqui · Aslam Shaikh; Lillete Dubey · Ila's mother; Nakul Vaid · Rajeev Singh; Bharti Achrekar · Mrs. Deshpande; Yashvi Puneet Nagar · Yashvi Singh; Denzil Smith · Mr. Shroff; Shruti Bapna · Mehrunissa
- Genres
- drama
- Themes
- loneliness; connection; longing
- Tone and mood
- poignant; romantic
- Premise and plot tags
- romance; drama; slice of life
- Reception
- The Lunchbox received universal critical acclaim from critics and audiences.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 76 · scale: 100 · review count: 28
- Awards and nominations
- Critics' Week Viewers Choice Award (Grand Rail d'Or) · Critics' Week · win
- Production trivia
- The film was shot in Mumbai on a budget of ₹220 million.; The film was a box-office success and was Irrfan Khan's highest-grossing Hindi film until 2017.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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