The Lunchbox is a moving, subtle story of a meeting between two people in the lively Bombay. The story starts when a meal, prepared by the main protagonist, is mistakingly delivered to the wrong address. This event is extraordinary, because it concerns the dabbawala community, which is unique and does not exist anywhere else.
This remarkable French-India-German-American film, directed by Ritesh Batra, tells the story of the distributors of home-made meals. They cover the distance on foot, by bike, train, and - regardless of bad weather or other adversities - they deliver the parcels to the office workers in Bombay on 12:30 sharp every day. Some of the parcels, which are called dabba, cover over 100 kilometres! It is estimated that there is about 5000 dabbawala, who deliver almost 200 000 meals every day.
The dabbawala community has existed for more than 120 years, and it is based on the system of signs, symbols and colours, which are on every parcel. As many as 85 per cent of the distributors are illiterate, most of them do not have mobile phones, however, the system is so precise, that mistakes happen only in one case out of 16 million, even though the parcels change hands many times. Such a mistake is the starting point for the story shown in The Lunchbox.
The Interbiuro company, in cooperation with Gutek Film, invited to the preview screening of the film in Muranów Cinema in Warsaw. The event took place on 23 January, while the film comes out in Poland on 14 February.
Espes was the event’s partner. The company INTERBIURO is the business partner of our company since 1998. The relationships between both the owners of the companies and the employees have been very close and friendly for many years. Therefore, we decided to take the initiative and support film screenings in the renowned Muranów Cinema, with additional substantive support of the great film authority, Gutek Film, says Tomasz Sierakowski, the President of Espes. Thanks to this initiative, we - and our close ones, friends and invited guests: architects, investors, clients and co-workers - have seen a beautiful and perceptive film, which gave each of us a chance to have a moment of reflection and meditation. I would like to add that reflection and meditation were accompanied by wine and sampling of delicious Hindu cuisine. We can only applaud such an initiative, and it is certain that we will be present at the next screening, he adds. The sampling was provided by Namaste India restaurant from Warsaw.