Good
looking John Abraham….some excellent photography….a sometimes fat and
sometimes slim looking Ayesha Takia….vague underground
sets….confusingly woven storyline and visuals by an intellectual for an
intellectual and a slow pace is what u get in return of your Rs.180
worth multiplex ticket….oh ya and don’t forget ur expenses for those
costly snacks which u bought from the counter….so that makes about Rs.
400 right?but guys on a serious note be ready to experience a new wave in Indian cinema….not
criticizing it by any means but a serious attempt of making a film
which is in a genre of its own….hard to digest by the regular audiences
but for the people who love this kind of a cinema surely
are going to enjoy this one….
I had seen Babel and the
screenplay was very tedious but the storyline was pretty simple and
easy to relate to the events happening in the film….even saw irreversible
which has a reverse screenplay still digestable but No Smoking takes
you on some other trip that of Anurag Kashyap and his protagonist K
(John Abraham)….seriously NS is not my kind of cinema which is why I
found it confusing though I was trying hard to understand things as
they were happening on the screen….like “main tub mein se hi kyun
nikalta hun har baar”….and also how Baba Bangali was able to
record every move of every smoker and show it to the smoking addict on
a vhs tape and also along with a calculator amounting to the money he
has wasted on smoking till date….the step by step punishment to John
and when in the climax he is shown with his two fingers chopped….did it
mean that actually john had tried to smoke twice as the first
punishment was that he will lose his brother which he does and the
second was that he loses his two fingers….
It’s a nice fictional world
created where you notice a call centre with burka clad ladies and high
tech devices used to take handprints in a slum looking Prayogshaala
and then fingers get attached to one’s hand like a magical act….i mean
its all so confusing that one keeps figuring out as to what is
happening….Answers to these are much awaited and what more…the
director leaves the final decision making on the audience which is more
burdensome….is Baba Bangali a baba or a doctor that’s on you to decide….
Now when reading this post
please keep in mind that I have no grudges against anybody or no doubt
about the intelligence of the person reading this post…this is purely
what I think and my views….people may differ with my opinion but no
debates or arguments intended……
AK has been a good writer all
through and I have seen Black Friday so many times but there was
seriously something mising in “No Smoking” and normal people or the
audience calls it a STORY. But sorry guys I may be one of those who
does not understand this kind of cinema….My kind of cinema is to reach
out to people and narrate your story to them in such a way that they
should feel that they have become a part of the story….and especially
to an audience who goes to the same theatre to watch other commercial
flicks and loves them irrespective of their repeated
storylines…different treatment styles by various directors etc….
I am definetly expecting some
frowning faces right now who are reading this post but my point of
discussion is exactly the same that I did not like NS so its not
necessary that u too vil not like it….its just a matter of getting our
point of views across…so that u know what I did not like in the film
and I know what u liked in the film….
I loved AK’s work in Black Friday and one more thing
which I have always said and maintained is that Anurag still has to
make a mark for himself as a director at the box office since he is
only one released film old….and some of his works are still awaiting
release….its very overwhelming to see a director who is hell bent on
making his kind of cinema which he believes in….good and commendable
but then just do that.make ur kind of cinema and don’t bother what the
whole world is doing….
I was very disheartened to see the screen number 5 of fame malad filled with only 50-60 people on its 1st
day of release….You all might be thinking what has suddenly happened to
Rajeev and why is he on a rampage of AK today but read this carefully
and you will know that one has a full right to speak his heart out for
the one he likes and how it has a connection with the response to NS so
I now refer to the Mumbai Mirror article which featured just around the release of NS where Anurag
spoke some rude words about Kjo and Koffee With Karan….i mean….this may
be one side of Anurag’s nature which is working against him….in most of
his articles he lashes out at the commercial camps and mainly Yashraj
and Kjo…for what….arrey they are commercial makers and successful ones
with more than one film to their credit and they have proven themselves
time and again at the box office with super duper hits….if Anurag does
not like their style of film making then it’s his personal decision why
does he have to get it in the print and be so verbal about it….
My whole point to say all this
was that with the kind of outbursts he has in media surely reduces his
audiences….and don’t be surprised guys if may be in future Anurag is
referred to as a Film Festival arena director or a documentary film
maker, I do not mean to demean the brilliant AK but my motive of saying
this is that he has to create a balance between his work and his media
write ups against certain people in the film industry so that his kind
of cinema is accepted by a wide audience….tell me who does not like
changes….and Anurag is making a definite attempt to create a different
kind of cinema but at the same time blocking his route by these
uncalled for statements which he is known for against his own industry
men….
I seriously m waiting
for all those die hard fans of AK who have found some deep
philosophical meaning in this movie which will be now passed on to me
in following posts & then make me feel that I am a beginner where
AK kind of cinema is concerned.:-)
In a nutshell guys I found No
Smoking very self-indulgent….movies for me are a medium that have to
keep the viewer in mind….if you cannot get your point across then you
are making a movie for yourself or the people close to you….
No Smoking is a very dark
film….a very different genre of film attempted by Anurag
Kashyap….watch it if you guys like vague paintings….vague foods….have
vague habits….or else it’s a waste of money….