Ritesh Batra who’s been on an awards winning spree for his film The Lunchbox at all the popular awards function this season has been missing from the events. Sources close to the film revealed Batra was miffed for being largely ignored in the popular categories in favour of the critics’ awards. However Ritesh has an entirely different take on his absence from the awards functions. Speaking from the US the director said, “I was committed to doing publicity for the US release so was sad to not make it for the awards. But I’m very honored by the appreciation. Glad that we were well represented by the cast, and also by my mom.” The Lunchbox releases on 28 February in the US. “So far the reviews have been very positive. It feels good to see the film reach out to non-traditional audiences who normally don’t want Hindi films,” says Batra. The Lunchbox is unarguably India’s most celebrated film since Satyajit Ray’s Pather Panchali. The film opened in November to record non-Indian audiences in many cities of Europe. The humble soft-spoken Ritesh Batra tried hard to keep his pride out of his voice. “We opened in Italy where the numbers of screens were doubled within a week. In Germany it is showing in a 100 screens. And in Switzerland The Lunchbox is in the Top 10 films of the country. It now opens in other countries like the Netherlands, Turkey and Poland.” Quite a unique space for an Indian film to occupy. Ritesh agrees, “It’s been an amazing journey for the film. The European audience has understood the film’s context completely. The French media asked me amazing questions about the dabbawala culture in Mumbai around which the film’s love story is woven. The foreigners seem to have connected with the film’s emotional epicenter wholeheartedly. I’ve to confess I never thought the film would go this far.” The understated director’s most memorable moment during the European sojourn was during the premiere when a middle-aged lady came up to him after the film’s screening and spoke to him. “I didn’t follow what she was saying in French. But she was obviously very moved. At the end of her emotional outburst she gifted me her scarf. And quietly walked away.” Writing his next film seems burdensome with all the travelling. “It’s a slow process. I am not at any one place long enough to let the plot develop. Right now all I have is two characters, a man and a woman and a love story set in Mumbai,” says Ritesh dreamily.