Middle class housewife Ila is trying once again to add some spice to her marriage, this time through her cooking. She desperately hopes that this new recipe will finally arouse some kind of reaction from her neglectful husband. She prepares a special lunchbox to be delivered to him at work, but, unbeknownst to her, it is mistakenly delivered to another office worker, Saajan, a lonely man on the verge of retirement. Curious about the lack of reaction from her husband, Ila puts a little note in the following day’s lunchbox, in the hopes of getting to the bottom of the mystery.
This begins a series of lunchbox notes between Saajan and Ila, and the mere comfort of communicating with a stranger anonymously soon evolves into an unexpected friendship. Gradually, their notes become little confessions about their loneliness, memories, regrets, fears, and even small joys. They each discover a new sense of self and find an anchor to hold on to in the big city of Mumbai that so often crushes hopes and dreams. Still strangers physically, Ila and Saajan become lost in a virtual relationship that could jeopardize both their realities.
Irrfan Khan (Saajan) is an award-winning actor who appears in film, television, and theatre. In India, Irrfan gained recognition from his roles in more than 30 Bollywood movies such as The Warrior, Maqbool, Haasil and Rog. He also hosted the TV show “Mano Ya Na Mano” and appeared in popular Vodafone commercials. In 2013, Irrfan won the National Film Award for Best Actor for his leading role in Paan Singh Tomar, a biopic about an athlete who became a notorious bandit. Irrfan is perhaps India‘s best known international actor due to the critical acclaim he has received for his roles in English-language films such as The Namesake, A Mighty Heart, Slumdog Millionaire, The Amazing Spider Man, The Life Of Pi, and the HBO series In Treatment.
Irrfan has won three Filmfare Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and an Independent Spirit Award nomination. He is also the recipient of 2011 Padma Shri award, the fourth highest civilian award in India.
Actress Nimrat Kaur (Ila) was recently seen in the acclaimed film Peddlers (Cannes Critics Week 2012). She also starred in 2012’s widely popular Hindi film Luv Shuv Te Chicken Khuranna. A prominent theater actor, Nimrat has been acting on stage for the past several years in popular productions such as All About Women, Bombay Talkies, Baghdad Wedding and Red Sparrow. A graduate of the prestigious Delhi University, Nimrat began her career with starring in music videos and commercials. “Acting has been the greatest learning about life for me,” says Nimrat. “To bring imaginary people and worlds to life and the places one sees and the people one meets along that journey have been the greatest gifts of this profession.”
Nawazuddin Siddiqui (Shaikh) starred in three films playing at the Cannes Film Festival 2013 – Bombay Talkies and Monsoon Shootout, as well as The Lunchbox. Siddiqui is often referred to as the poster boy for the new wave of Indian Cinema. Having begun his career opposite Amir Khan in Sarfarosh in 1999, there has been no looking back for the actor since. He is credited with strong performances in films such as Talaash, Gangs Of Wasseypur, Aatma, Peepli Live, Chittagong and Black Friday amongst various others. A recipient of the Special Jury Award at the Indian National Film Awards for his role in Talaash, Siddiqui also won the Best Supporting Actor at the 7th Asian Film Awards held in Hong Kong and the GQ Man of the Year award for breakthrough talent for his work done in 2012.