The Lunchbox is a poignant short film that follows Rahul, a young British-Indian boy grappling with identity and belonging after being bullied for bringing Indian food to school. As he begins to reject his roots in an attempt to fit in, the film delicately explores themes of colourism, cultural alienation, and the emotional labour of motherhood in diasporic families. Through subtle motifs like Fair & Lovely cream and a tender mother-son relationship, the film highlights the quiet tensions of growing up between cultures.
There’s something about 'The Lunchbox' that made me tear up as the credits of the short film rolled in. It could have been the protagonist, Rahul, a young British-Indian boy trying to fit in with his schoolmates, or his mother, doing her best to ensure that her family still feels connected to their roots in a distant land. Or perhaps it was simply the fifteen intimate minutes I spent watching this mother-son relationship unfold, and I just happen to be a sucker for stories like these.
The Lunchbox follows the story of Rahul, who gets bullied at school by his classmates, who are all white and unfamiliar with Indian food, for bringing dal-chawal in his lunchbox. The film traces the aftermath of this, as he goes back home and tells his mother that he “doesn’t want to be Indian anymore”. The film is simple and almost delicate in its approach, placing you in the shoes of both the parent and the child, and leaving you to grapple with what is right and what is wrong.
Rahul wants to fit in, and the statement, “I don't want to be Indian anymore,” comes from that very sentiment. At that age, when you are consciously developing a sense of self, and who you are changes on a daily, if not hourly, basis, fitting in becomes our topmost priority in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. For Rahul, being Indian meant being different from his classmates.
The film also uses motifs beyond just food, most notably the recurring presence of Fair & Lovely cream. What might initially seem like a background detail slowly reveals itself as central to the film’s emotional and cultural landscape. When the cream appears for the first time on screen, it feels almost casual, as if it's just another product we find on our mothers’ makeup tables, something ordinary. But Rahul and his mother have very different relationships with the cream. As Gaharwar puts it, “He believes that if he looks closer to the kids around him, that will mean he wouldn’t get teased, and the cream is his golden ticket. Unlike his mum, who uses the cream to achieve an ‘ideal beauty’ in her eyes, for Rahul, it’s the privileges that whiteness brings that he wants to attain.”
Mothers become silent bearers of the seismic shifts that families undergo when they move to faraway places. As keepers of the household, the many emotional currents within the home often flow toward them. The film taps into this subtly, never explicitly addressing the father’s absence as he is away working, missing family dinners and even festivals. “It’s deemed normal for fathers to miss important events, festivals, birthdays, etc., for work, and even be more distant from their children, as long as they’re meeting financial responsibilities, in a traditional sense,” says Gaharwar, explaining why he chose to focus on a mother-son relationship.
"When families leave their home countries, they often get stuck in a 'bubble' where in order to preserve their culture in their new home, they practice the values they grew up with, which are often more conservative."Shubh Gaharwar, director of 'The Lunchbox'
The film is not morose, though. It is hopeful, and at times, even bright. In the end, when Rahul approaches his mother during Holi, a festival that celebrates goodness and forgiveness, and applies colour to her, it becomes a small but significant gesture. It signals that he will not let go of where he comes from.
What makes The Lunchbox stand apart is that, while it speaks to a very specific diasporic experience, its message feels universal. Being a child and being a parent are both incredibly difficult, regardless of circumstance. On one hand, there is the emotional weight of navigating the world on your own; on the other, the challenge of ensuring that your own experiences and prejudices do not shape the person your child becomes. Neither is easy. From the universal itchy kurta we are forced to wear on festivals and the hundreds of times our mothers sub in to be both parents, we still try, and we do our best. And perhaps, that’s all that really counts.
'The Lunchbox' is premiering in Northern California at the Sundial Film Festival on 21 March, and from there will be playing at festivals arcross the world. The film will be available to watch online soon, but until then for updates to see where it is playing soon, follow them on Instagram.
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