Irrfan Khan in The Lunchbox. (courtesy: YouTube)
The Lunchbox, directed by Ritesh Batra, is a simple love story about two strangers who exchange notes about life through a lunchbox. Released in 2013, the film starred late actor Irrfan Khan, Nimrat Kaur and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. The critically-acclaimed film made waves at the international front as well. The Lunchbox took home critics week viewers choice award at the 66th Cannes International Film Festival. Recently, the film found itself in a list of “flop films” in a social media post. As the tweet went viral, Bollywood actor Vijay Varma decided to step in with some box office figures of the “global masterpiece.” It all started when a social media user, claiming to be a cinema lover, listed down “10 flop movies I secretly loved”. Surprisingly, the first film on the list was The Lunchbox. The text accompanying the poster read: “Ritesh Batra's gem intricately weaves an unconventional romance through lunchbox notes. The film's warmth, simplicity, Irrfan Khan's masterful portrayal, and Nimrat Kaur's subtlety create a tale that resonates long after the credits roll.”
Reacting to the tweet, Vijay Varma shared a screenshot of the business done by The Lunchbox in India. Reportedly, the film earned over Rs 100 crore at the box office. Vijay Varma wrote, “The Lunchbox is the biggest independent film from India. It did incredible business and is considered a global masterpiece. Not a flop in any parameter.”
The Lunchbox was not the only Irrfan Khan film which was listed in the list of “flop” movies. It was accompanied by the 2018-release Karwaan. Directed by Akarsh Khurana, the film also starred Dulquer Salmaan and Mithila Palkar.
Films like Vicky Kaushal's Masaan (2015), Vikramaditya Motwane's coming-of-age movie Udaan (2010), Shah Rukh Khan's Swades (2004) and Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa(1994), Varun Dhawan and Banita Sandhu's October (2018), Ajay Devgn and Aishwarya Bachchan's Raincoat (2004), Imtiaz Ali's Tamasha, starring Deepika Padukone and Ranbir Kapoor (2015), as well as Bhavesh Joshi (2018) were also in the list.
Meanwhile, Vijay Varma's last project was the OTT crime series Kaalkoot. Helmed by Sumit Saxena, the ensemble cast of Kaalkoot includes Shweta Tripathi Sharma, Yashpal Sharma, Gopal Datt, and Seema Biswas. Next, Vijay Varma will be seen in Sujoy Ghosh's thriller, based on the book The Devotion of Suspect X.