The Lunchbox Movie Analysis
The Lunchbox (Batra, 2013) is my chosen movie to review upon completion of the EAD 868 course’s third module. I will provide a case study of my takeaways, which focuses on the concept of Adult and Lifelong Eduscapes. In the movie, the main character Ila (Nimrat Kaur) creates lunch meals intended for her husband. One day, the lunchbox she created is delivered to a stranger, Saajan (Irrfan Khan) instead. The remainder of the film focuses on the two main characters’ journeys and their evolution of their friendship. Throughout their conversations, viewers get to witness the two as they explore conversational topics including relationships, career and family through their written letters provided in the meals Ila creates for Saajan.
As seen from this trailer, the film begins with an overview of the lunchbox delivery system set in Mumbai, India. We then get to the main characters Ila and Saajan, completing their daily routines. Then, a shift occurs in which the two protagonists get to know each other and find happiness within themselves. What begins as a delivery error turns into a fateful encounter as they find companionship in sharing their personal challenges.
In this essay, I will provide an in-depth analysis on Ila’s and Saajan’s experiences. There were two themes that stood out relating their stories into our module three readings:
- Ila’s Family and Relationship Roles in Adult learning
- Saajan’s Professional Experience and Aging Impact on Adult Education
As I continued watching the film, my argument became apparent. Why is Adult and Lifelong Eduscapes so much more than I initially thought it was? Specifically, what other factors can contribute to how adults learn throughout their lifetime? The film depicted how each character’s vulnerabilities brought out their personal challenges. Each story portrayed a multifaceted thought process and embodied how learning stems from various perspectives, including our own personalized adult experience. No character in this film had the same path in life, thus showcasing how adult learning is not linear and is more an ongoing, continuous cycle. I will explain in further details how Saajan and Ila’s themes were depicted in their character growth below.
Theme 1: Ila’s Family and Relationships in her Adult Learning
The first scene with Ila shows her fretting over her daughter and getting her ready for school. Immediately, I felt Ila had a lack of support and benefits to support her child’s education. This related to our readings on how funding for benefiting programs has narrowed for caretakers (Prins et al., 2020).
Once Ila’s daughter is off to school, Ila focuses on providing lunches for her husband. The entire process of delivering the lunchboxes across Mumbai was portrayed beautifully in the film — showcasing the elaborate process that the hardworking lunchbox deliverers (dabbawalas) completed to ensure meals were delivered correctly. The film referenced the Harvard study, having me to find sources of what the study concluded which is shared below:
As I related the lunchbox service to how meals are delivered here in the United States, I thought of the summarized themes within module three’s readings. Educators share a responsibility of advancing internationalization as an integral part of curricula, scholarship and practice of the field became apparent (Alfred & Guo 2020). Though The Lunchbox did not provide a thorough walk through of the education system, I am able to relate the delivery service system in India to cultural shifts within the United States. I realized the differences in how different countries offer delivery services and continue to challenge my critical thinking on how successes found within the Harvard Studies analysis of the delivery system in India could enhance our very own delivery services.
Navigating strong emotions such as grief was Ila’s turning point in her relationships. Mid-film, shocking moments occurred on the same day for Ila as she found out about her husband’s affair, and then was notified of her father’s death. Through her life events, it was transformative to see her acknowledge her pain and frustration. Thus, the audience sees how her character navigates cognitive abilities, moral development and emotional regulation. These factors show how gains and losses occur across a lifespan and enhance adult learning (Reio 2020).
The remainder of Ila’s letters to Saajan shows how she was able to find her identity. She found her companionship with Saajan therapeutic as they were able to build trust with one another. She exemplified author Lori Gottlieb (Maybe You Should Talk to Someone) in this transformation, letting go of her limited beliefs and showed how lifelong learning starts with the awareness of self (Arnold, 2020). This began with one of Saajan’s responses in his letter, which stated that her youthfulness would help her recover through life’s biggest obstacles.
Theme 2: Saajan’s Professional Experience and Aging Impacts in his Adult Education
Saajan’s character was introduced in the film as a retiree, who had served thirty-five working years in the claims department. He was portrayed as a character who kept to himself, was a hard worker and found his daily routine mundane. It became apparent that he was not happy with a high demanding and inflexible work arrangement. He was tasked with training his successor, Sheikh. Sheikh introduced himself growing up in a different culture as a self-made individual: he was an orphan who had migrated from Saudi Arabia. Originally, Sheikh was looking for opportunities for active learning. I felt he would have benefited from bridging programs, participatory programs and active learning (Shan & Gao, 2020). Instead, through Saajan’s mentoring and training experience, viewers can identify structural gaps inside and between the workplace. The company he worked for did not have much support with the need for communities to seek ways to encourage and support lifelong learning for all adults (Scully-Russ & Vidal De Col 2020). Rather, once Shaikh was yelled at by his supervisor for his lack of performance, Saajan accepted full responsibility for his incompetency to train due to being hindered by the primary focus on formal learning (Hager, 2004). As the film progressed, Saajan got to know and understand Shaikh’s background by riding the train with him, eating lunch with his colleague and expressing interest about Shaikh’s personal life.
Saajan’s monologue and expression during his train ride to and from his workplace pulled at my heartstrings. His narration during these scenes was the saddest part of the film.
“You look beautiful. You’re young. You can dream.” — Character Saajan Fernandes.
In this restaurant scene, Saajan addresses Ila as a beautiful, younger woman and stops himself from meeting her. He then defined himself as an elder, limiting himself to the opportunities to come for Ila. I felt his opposing views were ironic to our readings with adult learning. Formosa’s (2019) article, defines active aging as the process of optimizing opportunities for health, participation and security to enhance the quality of life as people age.
Adult and Learning Eduscapes Continues On
The film provides detailed, unique experiences through each character’s story, which is why it is important to understand how adult learning is ongoing. Similarly to the film, module three readings portrayed adult learning educational impacts and an adult’s life cycle implications on the concept of life-long, continuous work. Adult and Lifelong Eduscapes ideas include not hindering adult learners to their own individualized barriers, but sharing out and addressing everyone’s journey. The conclusion of The Lunchbox was left open for interpretation. I felt this was an appropriate ending as Ila and Saajan’s transformation is ongoing and the best is yet to come for the both of them. [1,345]
References
Alfred, M. V., & Guo, S. (2020). Internationalization of Adult and Continuing Education. In T. S., Rocco, M. C. Smith, R. C. Mizzi, L. R. Merriweather, & J. D. Hawley, The handbook of adult and continuing education (pp. 61–70). Sterling: Stylus Publishing LLC.
Arnold, R. M. (2021). Lifelong learning and being more aware of yourself. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 61(4), 878–881.
Batra, R. (Director). (2013). The Lunchbox. [Motion Picture].
Formosa, M. (2019). Active ageing through Lifelong Learning: The University of the Third Age. International Perspectives on Aging, 3–18.
Hager, P. (2004). Lifelong learning in the workplace? challenges and issues. Journal of Workplace Learning, 22–32.
“I have spent my whole life standing in trains, and buses, now I will have to stand even when I am dead.” — Character Saajan Fernandes. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:880/0*TG_9MP7YElZunv_p.gif.
Madman Films. (2014, March 17). The Lunchbox — official trailer [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQFryn6blZI
Prins, E., Clymer, C., Kaiper-Marquez, A., & Toso, B.W. (2020). Family literacy. In T. S., Rocco, M. C. Smith, R. C. Mizzi, L. R. Merriweather, & J. D. Hawley, The handbook of adult and continuing education, 205–213.
Reio Jr, T. (2020). Adult development. In T. S., Rocco, M. C. Smith, R. C. Mizzi, L. R. Merriweather, & J. D. Hawley, The handbook of adult and continuing education 2020 Edition (pp. 81–90). Sterling: Stylus Publishing LLC.
Scully-Russ, E., & Vidal De Col, X. (2020). Workforce development. In T. S., Rocco, M. C. Smith, R. C. Mizzi, L. R. Merriweather, & J. D. Hawley, The handbook of adult and continuing education (pp. 223–231). Sterling: Stylus Publishing LLC.
Shan, H., & Guo, S. (2020). Migration and migrant education. In T. S., Rocco, M. C. Smith, R. C. Mizzi, L. R. Merriweather, & J. D. Hawley (Eds.), The handbook of adult and continuing education (pp. 436–444).
“Sometimes the wrong train will get you to the right station” — Character Aslam Shaikh. (n.d.). https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:880/1*1NLXqimZ8fbCSp-23cmrCQ.jpeg. Retrieved November 28, 2023, from https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/880/1*1NLXqimZ8fbCSp-23cmrCQ.jpeg.
What Harvard learned by studying India’s Lunchbox Delivery System. The World from PRX. (2014, April 17). https://theworld.org/stories/2014-04-16/what-harvard-learned-studying-indias-lunchbox-delivery-system?fbclid=IwAR35EaPoAokcZ-3hntIDXjirr4Joqmby0kKw4ZpDk9BqnU67tX9lYJcPekk
YouTube. (2023). YouTube. Retrieved November 28, 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/shorts/92B_2ildxJQ.
