A lunch intended for a woman's husband reaches a lonely office worker instead. Notes exchanged through the lunchbox open an unexpected connection, challenging their settled routines and hopes for tomorrow.
A delicately sustained relationship drama, strongest when communication changes its characters without promising an easy romantic solution.
7 providers · 5 critic inputs · 2 audience inputs
The available critic average is 7.1/10 and audience average is 8.4/10.
Published comparable ratings, normalized to ten. Critics carry 80% and public audiences 20% when both groups exist; an available group carries 100%. Providers are equally weighted within each group. Approval percentages and personalized recommendations are excluded. Publications may overlap with aggregator inputs, so this is a provider-level estimate, not a count of independent reviews. Coverage is limited to the researched sources.
| Provider | Group | Native | Out of 10 | Weight | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime Video | audience | 4.5/5 | 9.00 | 10.0% | 0.900 |
| IMDb | audience | 7.8/10 | 7.80 | 10.0% | 0.780 |
| The Indian Express | critic | 3.5/5 | 7.00 | 16.0% | 1.120 |
| Metacritic | critic | 76/100 | 7.60 | 16.0% | 1.216 |
| Rotten Tomatoes | critic | 7.7/10 | 7.70 | 16.0% | 1.232 |
| The Guardian | critic | 3/5 | 6.00 | 16.0% | 0.960 |
| Times of India | critic | 3.5/5 | 7.00 | 16.0% | 1.120 |
Contributions use full precision, then the total is rounded to one decimal. Provider weights are not based on vote counts. Published aggregators can include the same reviews as individual publications; overlap cannot be fully removed without their underlying review lists.
The Film Nagar method ↗Our craft assessments draw on written criticism. They are separate from the public consensus above.
Character change earns the contrived starting point.
Restraint protects the characters' independence.
Small responses make loneliness tangible.
Crowded settings sharpen private separation.
Disclosures develop at an apt, deliberate pace.
Off-screen presence enriches the domestic world.
A misdirected lunch begins an exchange between Ila and Saajan, but Ritesh Batra makes their growing independence more important than the ingenuity of the mistake. The coincidence is conspicuous; the emotional consequences are more carefully earned.
Irrfan Khan's economical performance anchors the film, while Nimrat Kaur makes Ila's dissatisfaction and tentative hope central to its perspective. Busy workplaces and journeys sharpen the contrast between physical proximity and private isolation.
The unhurried pacing gives each disclosure room to alter the relationship. Sound also suggests company beyond the frame, particularly through the unseen neighbour's advice and remembered film music. The result is intimate and gently funny, although viewers seeking decisive romantic closure may find its reserve frustrating.
Understated acting and an emphasis on personal agency.
A conspicuous coincidence supports a deliberately unresolved romance.
These are the verified ratings currently available for this title, not a complete census of internet reviews. Historical ratings may differ from today’s provider pages. A percentage of positive reviews is shown for context and does not enter the score.
Prime Video customer ratings are audience input where a public aggregate is available. IMDb displayed on a streaming page counts as IMDb once. Netflix’s personalized recommendations are individual predictions and cannot be used as a public film rating. Country selection under Watch & Listen changes provider searches, not these rating snapshots.