For the love of lunch and friendship

THE Lunchbox is neither a hardcore foodie flick nor a lip-trembling tearjerker based on a Nicholas Sparks novel - although it does contain elements of each. Fortunately, first-time director Ritesh Batra displays an assured touch as well as a sense of restraint with this film about a case of mistaken lunchbox identity and the unlikely relationship that sprouts from it.

The movie's promise is deceptively simple yet entirely appropriate to its setting: the urban chaos of Mumbai and more specifically its unique food delivery system starring the city's dabbawallas - people who collect tiffin carriers of cooked food from homes for delivery to office workers throughout the city, using various modes of transport. The system, which has apparently come under the scrutiny of research…