There’s a wonderful quote by Tom Hanks that’s making its way around the internet. In it, he’s talking about actor Irrfan Khan, with whom he co-starred in the 2016 film Inferno: “I’m going to steal from you everything I possibly can. I’m going to start speaking very quietly in films. I’m going to wear very nice suits. And I will draw out the last sound of every sentence I say. And by doing that, I will be doing a very pale imitation of the coolest guy in the room.”
Rewatching 2013’s The Lunchbox, written and directed by Ritesh Batra, Irrfan as Mr Fernandes is neither wearing very nice suits, nor is he the coolest guy in the room. But as he unfolds a secret note placed inside the tiffin box, his eyes widening as he quickly glances around the room, or the imperceptible smile that makes his colleague Shaikh remark, “You are glowing today, sir,” you get the feeling that he is perhaps the most interesting man in the room.
And for good reason. Who else could turn a curmudgeonly middle-aged Bandra widower into the romantic lead of a will-they-won’t-they love story that takes place across a sprawling metropolis? The film follows two parallel storylines of Irrfan’s Fernandes and Nimrat Kaur’s Ila, a lonely homemaker in a loveless marriage. Their lives intersect through Mumbai’s intricate and efficient system of dabbawalas, people who never make a mistake. Except when they do, an erroneously delivered dabba begins a secret friendship between Ila and Fernandes, both lonely and longing for companionship. Mr Fernandes and Ila are, briefly, able to give that to each other.
Irrfan passed away on Wednesday at the age of 53 from a colon infection, after battling a neuroendocrine tumour for two years. Though Nimrat’s character Ila and Mr Fernandes never meet each other on screen, there’s a kind of easy candour that both bring to the film, one that you’d expect from longtime friends, and not strangers communicating through handwritten letters — hers in Hindi, his in English — in a tiffin box.
Of course, they talk about the food. Sometimes too salty, sometimes too spicy, and sometimes absent altogether, like when Ila sends an empty box to Fernandes as punishment for failing to show up to their scheduled date. Neither is willing to hold back on feelings likely kept repressed for years. But they also talk about their spouses — his gone, hers cheating — memories of an old Bombay and television shows no longer screened. They talk about the oriental fan that revolves above the upstairs' neighbour Mr Deshpande, perhaps keeping him alive.
“He was a perfect vessel as an actor where he would come and with him being the vehicle, the story goes forward, which is why it was an Irrfan Khan performance. He got so much gravity and life even by being in a frame, he didn't have to say anything, his eyes were... You learn so much just by watching him," Nimrat said, following his death.
Irrfan rarely played the lead in movies, both in Indian cinema and Hollywood. Instead, he would take on supporting character roles, sometimes the villain, sometimes the scientist. But as many have said before, his gravitas, perceptiveness and sharp wit on screen have always been thoroughly captivating.
Mr Fernandes maintains a kind of stoicism through most of the film, though we see cracks in the ice from a growing longing for Ila. There are moments when he fears he is losing her — as he smells the dabba before opening it, knowing it is from her, or watching her from afar as she waits in vain for him at the cafe. Before his train to Nashik jolts out of the station, you feel his indecision and for a moment, you feel like he is about to jump off the train and run to Ila, in a style more reminiscent of typical Bollywood movies. But this isn’t a typical Bollywood movie, and all you want to do is reach into the screen and shake the doubt out of him.
He comes around in the end, though we’re left to wonder whether it’s too late. The nice suit is finally here (just a blazer, but we’ll take it) as he seeks out Ila before, unbeknownst to him, she is about to start a journey of her own. Maybe it’s too much to hope that they find each other. This isn’t that kind of movie after all. But as we say goodbye to Mr Khan this week, we can allow ourselves a little leeway to hope for the best for Mr Fernandes.