Beloved Bollywood Movie ‘The Lunch Box’ Debuts As A Musical In Berkeley

The Lunchbox, the film

It is a truth universally acknowledged that dabbas (lunchboxes) in the famed Mumbai dabbawalla system do not get mixed up. Over a hundred thousand dabbas are transferred every day using a manual transfer process, and always reach their intended recipient. The system is so efficient that even Harvard Business School did a case study on it.

For his 2013 film The Lunchbox, Director Ritesh Batra imagined the unthinkable—a dabba mix-up. The film is a soulful depiction of a friendship that develops between a lonely widower (played by the incomparable Irrfan Khan) and a young housewife (Nimrat Kaur) when the special dabba she prepares for her increasingly aloof husband is delivered to another man. It touched the hearts of audiences worldwide. 

The Lunchbox, the musical

Ritesh Batra has adapted the story for the stage as a musical play. Directed by Rachel Chavkin, The Lunchbox, the musical, had its world premiere at Berkeley Repertory Theatre on May 17, 2026. The offspring and I went to see it, and thoroughly enjoyed it.

It is heartening to say many prominent Bay Area South Asians are named in the list of sponsors—Yogen and Peggy Dalal, Sudha Pennathur and Edward Messerley, Anjali and Sundar Pichai. The lobby area has posters describing the intricate, fail-proof dabbawalla system with a map of the Mumbai train system, as well as tips on South Asian dining in the Bay Area.

In an interview with Berkeley Rep that’s included in the program, Batra explains that in a movie, one can convey big things that are happening through silence. But in a play, everything is driven by dialogue, and songs are more effective than words in conveying a character’s innermost feelings. And indeed, the songs work wonderfully.

Captivating melodies and dance

The song “Dnyanoba Mauli Tukaram Tukaram” sung by the dabbawallas opens the play and closes it. The catchy refrain is sung on and off through the play. The appealing music is by the Lazour brothers, Daniel and Patrick, who, as it happens, were seated in the row behind us, imparting their energy and enthusiasm to all around them. The musicians are given a prominent place–the tabla player was seated on stage at the back, and the remaining instrumentalists were visible in an upstairs room. The lyrics (co-written by Ritesh Batra and the Lazours) are clever, the melodies are captivating, and the vocals are terrific. 

Ila, the lonely housewife played by Kuhoo Verma, takes cooking tips from Mrs. Deshpande, her elderly upstairs neighbor who cares for her invalid husband. Ila’s husband has become aloof, buried in work, and perhaps another life. The lunchbox she packs for him one day comes back uncharacteristically empty and clean. She realizes that there was a switch – it went to someone else. That person turns out to be Saajan Fernandes (played by Manu Narayan), a widower working in a government office. They take to sending notes to each other in the dabbas and develop a friendship.

The two-story set rotates to switch between Ila’s residence, Saajan’s office and a café from where he usually orders his lunch.

Despite Saajan’s curmudgeonly nature, Shaikh, the man hired to replace him when he retires, manages to charm Saajan into a friendship, inviting him home and introducing him to his beloved Mehrunissa. The Roda stage at Berkeley Rep has hosted a joyous “Monsoon Wedding” in the past, and this wedding is also quite entertaining. So are the dances performed by various characters – office workers, cooks, waiters, dabbawallas — to Reshma Gajjar’s choreography.

Mrs. Deshpande, the Auntie upstairs, has a bigger role in the play, taking on some of the plot elements that Ila’s mother played in the film. Anisha Natarajan does a distinguished job is playing the role, with humor, affection and poignancy, and some terrific singing. In a moving scene, she talks of the years of caregiving at the expense of her own wants and needs, and the simple desire to just eat something. 

The play has a more “spelled out” ending than the film, and that works well on stage. In both, the fragility of human connection pervades. While the film is a quiet, reflective experience, the play is a lively yet moving, occasionally raucous, and entirely delightful experience.

The Lunchbox is showing at Berkeley Repertory Theatre from May 17 to June 28, 2026.