Murray State's Cinema International is wrapping up its fall programming with the 2013 Indian romantic drama, The Lunchbox. John Null spoke with Cinema International's Therese Saint Paul, as well an MSU graduate student from India, about the film.
The film stars Irrfan Khan (Life of Pi, Jurassic World) as a widower who begins receiving notes from an unhappily married woman due to a mix-up in Mumbai's lunch delivery service. They then begin a correspondence that turns into a friendship. Actress Nimrat Kaur (Homeland, Wayward Pines) co-stars.
Kimaya Thakur is an MSU graduate student in English who's from India. She says it's extremely rare for an Indian film to depict women as being unsatisfied in their marriages.
"There are a lot of women in India who are not satisfied with their married lives, who are not loved by their husbands and who are just stay-at-home wives who have to look after children and cook and clean," Thakur said. "I mean they are not satisfied with their life and they exist and there are lots of them, but in Indian society, no one recognizes them. Women are either single or they are happily married. That's it."
Saint Paul says the movie has both a realistic depiction of urban life in Mumbai and elements of magical realism.
"They are very subtle, but there are odd things that food and the enjoyment of it creates in the characters," Saint Paul said. "Whether it's real or imagined is for us to decide.
The Lunchbox is showing Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights at 7:30 at the Curris Center Theater. All Cinema International screenings are free and open to the public. Donations can be made to Cinema International through MSU's Office of Development.
