There will usually be two reactions when you end up seeing Anurag Kashyap’s No Smoking
1.It was wicked! I cannot beleive I just saw that in Hindi
2.What on earth did just hit me!.what was that all about?
Anurag Kashyap with No Smoking gives us what can roughly be called a rush of phantasmagorical hallucinatory images depicting the journey of a non-conformist K(John Abhraham)from living on his own terms to having his individuality beaten out oh him by the system.Essentially, all Kashyap wants to do is show you an idea or more correctly engage you.And there is a lot to see here.Two particular bits stand out-K’s descent into Baba Bengali’s workshop as he literally peels off each layer and descends deeper into this menacing hell.The other is the last bit which uses jump cuts and special effects better than any film in Hindi Cinema that comes to mind, as K finally gives in to the system and loses his soul.Rajiv Ravi’s camera-work is a thing of beauty.
I would like to consider this an important piece of cinema as far as Bollywood goes.But, as far as engagement issues go the unevenness of the film, sequences thrown in for no reason whatsoever, say as Infidel castrated segment and Kyunki Bachpan bhi kabhi naughty tha which are funny as hell but out of place, and pacing issues make it slightly boring.The item number at the end of it all serves no purpose .The film gives you a lot to think over and decipher in its playtime, say as Ae Ajnabi plays in the background urging Abbas Tyrewala’s(a squint eyed Ranvir Shorey)soul to prevent K from disobeying Baba Bengali’s orders.But looked at holistically Kashyap makes the mistake of making this work extremely incestuous and thereby alienating a large segment of the audience.Influences from Kashyap’s own life are difficult to overlook.Ayesha Takia is both K’s wife and secretary(probably serving some other purpose) just like Kashyap’s wife is his editor.
The movie drifts between the real and the fantastic slickly exploring the workings of K’s paranoid crimson room.The movie ends with K fearing to have lost his own soul, in order to satisfy those around him, and reforms himself by by urging others to fight the battle just like he did.The last scene in which K discovers that his fingers are missing depicts the first responsibility assigned to K, that of converting another member, which will mark the completion of his cure. The scene also shows that K’s renunciation of his habit is positive for him as well, he has his wife back in his bed, and is in good health apart from his missing fingers that he shall recover it once he has disposed off his responsibility
What is unique is that the director offers no concrete view point and leaves it to the viewer to interpret as per his own inferences.In order to decode fully, the movie warrants more than a single trip to the theatre.The cinematography(Rajeev Ravi) is stupendous.The pyschedaelic exteriors manage to give the film a surreal feel.Vishal Bharadwaj’s music and background score also does the same.
Coming to the actors, John Abraham with the drool worthy six pack abs is a major disappointment.The role fits him to the T but his body language is too stiff to be able to convey the internal trauma that K goes through and the facial expressions arent complete as well.Ayesha Takia is fine as the pissed wife but as the secretary looks uncomfortable and only occupies more screen space each time she appears on screen.Ranvir Shorey as the squint eyed Abbas Tyrewala does a fairly good job.Paresh Rawal is okay but a more menacing shri shri shri baba would have done no harm to the film.
No Smoking is an absolutely insane film, and is a very brave attempt at the hands of Anurag Kashyap.and an even braver attempt at the hands of Kumar Mangat and Vishal Bharadwaj the producers.At the box-office it will crash and burn.but is it the harbinger of a new wave in Hindi Cinema? Only time will tell.