I believe director intended for the audience to choose if Ila and Saajan meet eventually. But it is absolutely bitter to think that Ila would continue to live with her cheating husband. Or was it implied that Saajan would pursue her since he returned to Mumbai(from Nasik).Confused- Any thoughts?
The director left it for us to decide what we actually want to happen... Sajan's pursuit to find Ila in the end... Whether he was able to reach on time, i.e before Ila has already left for the "happy land Bhutan" with her daughter...
Ila for sure isn't gonna stay with her unfaithful hubby now after having come to know of his infidelity and also her own rejuvenation post her mother's speech at her father's funeral..
Sajan too now realized he is not that old to begin a new phase of his life with Ila.....
So do they meet or not, is for us to decide.....
Imagine Ila has already left, and Ila never posted the letter, Sajan wud have no clue of her whereabouts ever.....
Too many questions .... no answers..... anyone hinting a sequel... may be... may be not... Some questions are best left unanswered......!!!!!!!
Thoughts!!
yes some questions are best left unanswered. I agree and i always say this. There is a beauty itself in silence.
shareThere is no reason why Sajan is riding with the lunchbox pick-up service crew at the end…except to try to locate Ila..they door to open up his life has been through Ila…and the question is..where will that door lead…and perhaps …if romantically inclined…to Ila's mother…to just to live life to the fullest. It doesn't matter…the characters are on a quest for fulfillment and happiness..
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Yes..you are so right. Wise words. Love this.
shareanyone hinting a sequel... may be... may be not...
"tragedy"??!? What movie were you watching?
The film ends with him riding with the delivery men, clearly to accompany them to Ila's house - where he will finally meet her ... It's morning ... She's at home packing until her daughter returns from school ... They've each worked through their own individual decision to have courage and be proactive, not waiting passively for life to decide their fates and not acquiescing to the voice of futility or "too old for happiness" ...
I can see the tagline now...
Lunchbox II...Now it's dinner time!
The relationship lasted as long as lunch was being served. Saajan retired, and Ila had the delivery of her prepared lunches redirected to her husband. Lunchtime ended...and sadly so too did the relationship.
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I would suggest re-watching the part of the film. She had no intention whatsoever of re-routing the lunches to her husband.
shareThe ending scene of Saajan is hime riding with the lunchbox pick up service. I believe he is on route with them to find Ila…and remember…there is the story of her mother losing her husband ..there is no sorrow…except for her own loss of her "life" …I believe her will end up with the mother….there are a lot of stories/themes, of lost mothers, orphans, women who are lost….the story is catapulted by Ila…this who film is about living one's life fully…not a contrived love story at all...
shareAre you saying he will end up with her mom.
shareWe know that she plans to leave for Bhutan as soon as her daughter arrives home from school; that's in the letter.
We also see that Saajan is riding to her place with the dabbawalas (lunchbox delivery guys).
So a question for anyone who knows: what times of day do these things tend to happen?
Clearly there's some overlap, or the ambiguous ending wouldn't work. But the actual ending may be one of these three, depending on what time kids usually come home from school, and what time of day lunchboxes are usually returned:
1) There's a good chance he gets there in time, but it's not certain.
2) It's likely that he gets there too late, but there's some hope.
3) Toss a coin.
Prepare your minds for a new scale of physical, scientific values, gentlemen.share
I'm optimistic that he got to her in time, because from what I remember, she seemed to be reading his responses when she was alone in the apartment, except for the day that she and her daughter visited her mother. So I think the lunchbox was returned to her before her daughter came home from school. I could be getting the timeline wrong, but that's what I observed.
shareI remember at least one scene when her daughter was home when the lunchbox was returned and she opened the letter.
Hmmm...
That's an excellent observation; that clinches the outcome for me. Very subtle, but clearly irrefutable.
shareIt's morning, he's with the delivery men for their pickup round, not the return round ... There's no doubt. Ila will be home packing and he will find her there.
shareOh, so that's what was happening at the end . . . Saajan was consulting the lunchbox delivery men . . . That completely escaped me. I thought he'd opted out of Nasik cause he wasn't ready for old age. But thought he'd decided on Bhutan to find Ila. Just couldn't understand how that would happen in such a large place. Thanks for the insight, emvan.
I have absolutely no doubt that he found her waiting for her daughter to come home from school and that they seized the opportunity and all set off together. I refuse to acknowledge the possibility of any other ending.
shareHuwdj, I'm with you. Thank you for clearing that up for me.
With that said, Now I love this movie!
Intentionally ambiguous; up to the individual. However, Saajan AND Ila BOTH seemed to enjoy the saying about "a wrong train sometimes getting you to the right station", each having heard it independently... But whether that station is getting on with your life (especially after Ila's mother tells her about the last unpleasant years with her husband, Ila's father), and Saajan's increasing interaction with others, or maybe together ... Believe what you will.
shareI loved the movie, but didn't care for the ending. Romantic me, wanted them to meet.
shareYou got your wish. What makes you think they don't meet? It's going to be the perfect 11th hour meeting ... which the movie wisely spared unnecessarily showing as it would have 'reduced' the film to the usual formulaic ending - it gave us instead all the necessary pieces to know that the deliveryman will lead him to her place where she will be packing ...
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