The serendipitous mix-up has served the basis for many a romantic comedy, but quiet drama predominates here. Ila (Nimrat Kaur) is a Mumbai housewife whose hot lunches inadvertently get routed to government worker Saajan (Irrfan Khan) instead of her husband. With minimal set-up but perhaps a touch of contrivance — how is it that the delivery service suddenly starts making the same mistake every day? — the housewife and the office worker begin a correspondence. In no time the talk turns from food to other things. The spice that goes into Ila’s delicious meals has gone out of her marriage; Saajan, a widower about to take early retirement, lives a lonely life.
And so they pass old-fashioned notes on paper while never seeing each other. The chaste exchange, which reminded me of the 1987 film 84 Charing Cross Road, is as much about the need to unburden oneself as about the very gentle romantic subtext. The two leads serve as somewhat idealized recipients these wishes folded in paper, and the appeal of the film is very much about the lovely idea that one might accidentally find such a person. The only other significant character is the man who will replace Saajan at his job, although Ila has an upstairs neighbor who is heard, but not seen. For those who enjoyed the view of Mumbai in Slumdog Millionaire, this movie presents it as equally bustling, but a little less terrifying.
Inasmuch as the two main characters have not met and do not really know each other, the ending carries the story forward, but not too far, and that seems just right.
IMDb link
viewed 4/3/14 7:10 pm at Ritz East and posted 4/3/14
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