Hindi Cinema Blog: DABBA - 'The Lunchbox"

Image by Indianexpress.com

After having bagged at least 15 minutes of a standing ovation at its premiere screening at the 66th Cannes Film Festival, Ritesh Batra's Dabba (The Lunchbox), produced by Anurag Kashyap, has won the Grand Rail d'Or Award, which is an equivalent of the Critics Week Viewer's Choice Award. This has been followed by the purchase of its North American distribution rights by Sony Pictures Classics.

The internationally co-produced film is based on the premise of a mistaken delivery in Bombay's famously efficient dabbawallah system of lunchbox delivery. The delivery error connects a young housewife, Ila Singh, to a mature man close to retirement, Saajan Fernandez, through written notes that inspire them to create a fantasy world together.

Ritesh Batra is a graduate from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts film program. He has been recognized for his talent at Sundance, the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) and by French-German TV channel ARTE. The Dabba screenplay has also been applauded and awarded an Honorable Jury Mention at the Rotterdam International Film Festival and was promoted at the Goa NFDC Film Bazaar, the Berlinale Talent Project Market and at the Torino festival screenwriter's lab.

As Indian cinema continues to woo Cannes audiences, the Hindi Cinema Blog looks forward to seeing the film in India at the soonest.