I smoked Classic Milds
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Sitting in rome reading the extreme reactions and reviews.. I don’t mind taran’s review for he in his seven lives would not have understood why someone would like to make a film like this.. Khalid reviewed me and not the film and from his review all i can say is neither has he read “Quitter’s inc” nor has he seen “cat’s eye”.. he just read the comments on PFC.. and i will say to him is , “Chutiye tu retire ho ja , tera time khatam.”
Rajeev masand’s POV is quite fair.. he expected a lot..probably another black friday but he is an honest man.. his review was more anger than criticism.. only thing that upset me was him calling it the worst movie of the year..it probably is from his POV but then he should have broken an Ostrich’s egg on camera and i would have bought it.. reviews that the film has got were expected.. everyone involved and who had seen it had warned me about it..but then that’s the price you pay for being arrogant..
Yes it is an arrogant film..it is a film about arrogance.. of two kinds..why i made it , the way i made it, the reasons i have never discussed it before.. it is (like thani said) my most personal movie.. i am K.. K’s arrogance is the obvious arrogance, that everyone sees everyday.. he smokes..he breathes nicotine.. he says no one tells me what to do.. i breathe cinema.. and forever everyone has been telling me not to make the kind of cinema i do.. NO SMOKING is a tale of an arrogant man and another who is much more arrogant, who lives in his world, where he controls everything and he thinks he is morally superior to anyexisting Homo sapiens, he is the kind of man who thrives on minorities and underpriveleged, he worships the dictatorian attitude and all he wants from you is to lose your soul and convert….it,s a tale about an arrogant man’s descent into morality.. and the architecture of the moral world is so absurd that it sometimes beats reality.. what happens in the film is a parallel to what happens in the real world.. Taran’s review talks about three E’s which reminds me about the censor board official who asked me why did i make paanch, and then he further said cinema is suppose to be healthy entertainment.. Paanch is niether healthy nor entertaining.. baba bengali is like that man, who has already deciced what kind of cinema should be made and should exist.. the film is about my struggle against the system to have the freedom to (smoke)make films..
GIVE ME THE LIBERTY TO KNOW , TO UTTER , TO ARGUE FREELY ACCORDING TO MY CONSCIENCE ABOVE ALL LIBERTIES
since i do not have the liberty, and i get banned everytime i am directly stating my opinions(we started shooting much before Black friday got the clearence), one has to wage a guerilla war.. no smoking is my guerrilla war.. and in the end the man loses to the system and the only way he can survive is after having lost his soul(freedom).. everyone expects a good versus evil film, where good wins over evil, where the end sums it up, and all is well at the end.. well it doesn’t happen here.. here K doesn’t want to, but never comes to know how and when he gave in to the system, but accepts it and starts to do what his own people did to him,,why? in order to survive.. why his treatment becomes an incomprehensible nightmare, because it does in real life, i am the living proof..this film is just the treatment the powerful(baba Bangali) puts K(the man whose allusions are of greatness, seemingly invincible) through to bring him over to his side and manages.. there is nothing more.. i have seen the industry’s waking conscience when FANAA got banned in gujrat, and reading hrithik roshan’s democratic rights speech in midday the next mornig,, never saw none of that solidarity when my two films got banned..
Have had my film scripts stolen from right under me by the most powerful, respected and supposedly just people and did not see anyone even whispering it..and yes i am arrogant, because i work very hard to put my neck and my sense of security and my goodwill on line.. i do not scratch anyones back.. i criticise those who will always get the oppurtunity to trash me like they have this time.. i live on my own terms in this spineless world and that makes me arrogant, and i would rather have a good review when people like my film than by being on good terms with them..
in the end i do not want to explain no smoking anyfurther and would say i prefer it over Black Friday and i love every bit of it and i still hope it finds it’s audience and makes money for my producer who trusted me to make this film.
And i smoked nothing but classic milds while making this film mr. hegde..
But I must say one thing… the movie was pretty much difficult to understand for normal people. What was the target audience for the movie? I am sure it was not made for aam janta..
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Hey Anurag
Whatever the reviews say I loved the movie.
Initially I struggled to understand the ending but after reading this article I get what you meant.
Loved the witty humour in the film, music and the background score was just too good and complemented the movie very well.
Loved ‘Black Friday’ and now this. Keep the good work going.
Will watch the movie once again.
Me and my good friend, Rajesh Dalvi (lead guitarist of the band Nakshatra) love you a lot and are with you in whatever you do.
Sunil Thakur
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I guess Sunil dropped in before me. Nevermind.
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hey anurag i just saw no smoking and i must say i loved the film but then………. is that enough…. i mean to say PFC had generated a buzz for no smoking n frankly i was so fucking excited that i played the role of a journalist and with that 1 stupid recorder i have….i recorded people’s opinion’s….SHOCKING BUT THE MOST COMMON THING I HEARD WAS…..” KYA BANAYA HAI SALE CHUTIYE NE,SALA MUJHE TO LAGTA HAI KHUD NAHI SAMJHA HOGA”. Infact my friends were asking each other what they understood about the movie…..n BELIEVE ME THEIR INTERPRETATIONS WERE funnier than MAYANK SHEKHAR’S FILM REVIEWS WHO PEOPLE CONSIRDER A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF A PSEUDO INTELLECTUAL. …..coming back to no smoking what should i call the film Psychological Thriller, neo-noir …… para surrealistic…… whatever it is…… i think its like serving scotch to a common indian who’s used to DESI DARU………… A PERFECT INDIA VIEWER IS AS DUMB OR EVEN DUMBER THAN MR TARAN ADARSH….. WHO ISN’T EVEN A CRITIC WHAT SHOUD I CALL HIM…..O YES THE TERM MR SUNNY DEOL IMMORTALISED ‘DALAL’.BY THE WAY I HAVE SEEN CAT’S EYE,N YES I HAVE EVEN SEEN THE Spoofs
Cujo and Christine BASED ON THE FILM. but then how many people have seen these types of films……leave alone these films people haven’t even seen similar classics like eternal sunshine of a spotless mind and vanilla sky……….. so the question is why would u make such a narsistic film….is it done with the sole ambition To promote THOU’S TALENT AND SHOW THEM. ” I M A GENIOUS”.
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Very few people get to do what they want to do. Find yourself lucky that your producers allow you to make your kind of cinema. Woody Allen is one such person. I may not necessarily like his films but I do admire his passion and devotion.
I hope that you get your audience. A good product will find its way in the market. As far as reviews are concerned “log to kehte hain..unka kaam hai kehna.”
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Dil pe Mat Le Yaar
Hota hai …Duniya hai..Bani to Bani nahi to Abdul Gani
Waise i expected this to happen.. I knew this would come..
And I also know that this would also come..
humko jab koi poochta hai …name your favorite movie: Apart from the regular stuff, you always have 1 unconventional in your list..
10 saal baad everyone wud have NS in their list..
Woh Zinda tha tab usse Nobel Prize nahi Mila.. Woh Mar gaya to kehne lage Ki Galti Ho gayee usko Noble Prize nahi diya
Woh 47 ke Pehle Terrorist Khelata tha woh 47 ke baad revolutionary kehlane laga.
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Anuragji, I respect your views. One thing I do not understand is why not live in the system and make your kind of films. Why make enemies and put yourself in the corner everyday? One the other hand, I agree with Masand when he says that the film should not be self indulgent. Khalid Mohamaad totally lost it this time.
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@ Tushar
Lol
Ya I can sleep peacefully now
I will watch the movie again
Kash Laga:)>-
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Hey Anurag,
Im an 18 yr old guy, a film lover and i have been dying to watch your film ever since i caught the first promos on TV. I live in Kolkata but currently in Dubai and itching to watch No SMoking but was forced to go for Bhool Bhulayia with my family and friends today. I guess that sums up the mentality of the average movie goer but you are a winner and a winner with a mind of his own.
I would even dare to call you the HOWARD ROARK of BOllywood. I havent yet seen No smoking But i definitely will watch it irrespective of what Mr.Masand feels. MASAND KO PASAND NAHI AAYA THO KYAA?
ITS GONNA WORK.
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K the absurd. K the Sisyphus.
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Hey Anurag
Sunil here again
When I walked out of the theater today people kept talking about how they couldnt understand the movie and what was the intention of the movie….etc
I kept asking myself the same questions and I knew it somewhere this movie has a dark hidden message. After hearing it from the man itself I know what the movie is about. I called up my cousin at 5 pm in the night to explain how brilliant the movie is….even he thinks its awesome.
I only wished you could have done the marketing of the movie in a different way. Instead of promoting it as a anti smoking movie you could have made the people know that this movie is about you against this rotten system. I am sure then more people could have understood what you are trying to say.
You know what my friends always keep reminding me of the bad things about UP (corruption, poverty, illeteracy)…..Now I can boast about one good thing from UP……Anurag Kashyap
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Anurag,
I haven’t seen the film yet – But I will. In fact, after reading that “chutiya” Khalid’s review I definitely will.
I think it was not a review of the film, but of you. It was the frustration of a wannabe-Truffaut, a wannabe-Bergman who could never himself make a decent flick!! How can he digest that someone has gone ahead and tried to do that.
But my only concern remains – if all this negativity diminishes ur spirit. Brother, there are a lot of us still behind you all the way. We need more of such stuff.
To the revolution!
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Hey Anurag…
I haven’t even seen the movie yet…but i love it already… man… please don’t change and keep making such movies. I am going to see this movie today and I will love it for sure… you are our saviour man… don’t fall for khalid type chutiyas… lets make it happen… you rock man … you rock!!!!!!!
Gaurav
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Haven’t seen it yet, but I already had assumed that “K” was you. After all, one of the directors wrote on PFC recently that a filmmaker needs to be true to his own experiences and not try to be someone else. (And your last name IS Kashyap.)
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I like it. You make a terrible movie and then you justify it :D. That’s why you should never even hope to be in the class of RGV – at least he accepts he’s made terrible movies.
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To be honest – why dont you just ask RGV what he felt about the movie…
I am sure you may agree to what he says..
What do you say, AK?
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The promos gave a hint, the lighting and sound effects gave a hin, John Abraham’s interviews gave a hint, Anurag’s quotes gave a hint, the dialogues gave a hint but no one got it. Anyone with half a brain could guess that this film would have a surreal mood. And then people go and view it keeping thinking they will get a normal film. And when they get such a shock which is due to their own stupidity and inability to get out of their comfort zone, they shit on it.
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Hi Anurag,
This is my first comment on PFC. I read most of your blogs on PFC before trying to comment on what you are trying to convey. I’ve seen Black Friday and I respect you a lot after watching that movie.
A movie coming in from a man who worked as an assistant to Mani sir will no doubt have a thin story line that is hard to break.
From the kind of movies that you make, don’t you think you were expecting this backlash from the “critics” ?. You always knew it was coming your way and I know that you were always having a chuckle about the reviews even before they poured in.
I don’t think you were even expecting critics or the aam junta to touch your feet after making No Smoking. So why are you quite fed up of the critics? You know they are always going to scratch the balls of “Bigger Production Houses”.
Seriously, you make the movie, we watch the movie. I think comments in the aftermath of the movie make no sense.
You seriously were not expecting a family with 2 kids to go and watch your movie. You seriously were not expecting a blue/white collared person to go watch your movie. You seriously were not expecting the guy on the street to go watch, and even if he does watch, understand your movie.
You have an audience that range from 18-23 years old who have seen Hollywood Classics and noir-niche films.
How about you get your reviews just from the 18-23 year olds and make comments about what they have to say.
The old man critic has anyway no relation to your film since you didn’t even make the film for him to watch it. Why bother about his comments ?
I am 21, and I loved No Smoking. Any movie, where in you are thinking for 6 hours after the movie finished about why did the character do certain moves in the film, is a film which is worth remembering for sometime.
I hope you can review more people from the audience that you are making your film for and rather not make chutiyagiri comments about the old man critic who is sipping on a 100$ beer.
Roshan, from Sydney.
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Hi Anurag..
I’vnt seen the movie…
I am in Texas…and m really missing it..
itna samajh mein aaya ki GAAAND futt gayee hai kuch logo ki khaas kar…critics jaisey logo ki…
mast hai!!!!…lage raho!!!
-KM-
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No,… it aint smoking !
I have been on PFC for a bit now and went to watch NO Smoking enthused by Anurag’s “build-up blogs”. At the very onset I must confess I havent watched his previous directorial ventures.
Having been a self taught student of cinema for the last 16 years it was a sobering experience to encounter a film so formidable against my comprehension.
Having said that, I do however believe that at least part of this complexity was undesirable from the point of view of a storyteller.
Every film maker is a storyteller and to that end it is imperative that – to be engaging he
must be honest and forthright. He can be crafty, …but he can never be devious.
He has to lead the audience, …not throw them off his trail, – confused and clueless.
It appears to me No Smoking is a victim of this fundamental flaw.
From the very POV of destiny the film abounds with events which do not seem (at least to me !) to serve any purpose in the “greater scheme of things”. For eg. How does the ” eunuch throwing coins at John as he awaits a signal” fit in ?
Or, one can talk about the juvenile inclination towards gimmicks, …eg. Why does the dwarf (for want of a better word, …no offence) speak in a baritone voice ?
Also, the “Pop Art meets Noir meets Black Comedy meets Bits and Pieces of Scores of Cinematic Frames in My Subconscious” treatment throws one further off balance.
Style is always secondary to content and story, …desireably a dictated by-product of the latter. Force framing “inspired” shot compositions is not style, …rather the absence of it.
It is a pity that the basic construct held so much potential, so much promise, …and yet lost itself in a patchwork of parallel worlds, time envelopes and reckless narrative.
Infact as John’s character is pushed into the mediaval dungeon of outlandish third degree smoking deterrents I couldnt help but recall “A Clockwork Orange” and go “tch tch tch”.
About the actors, John delivers to the best of his ability, as one wood expect ( no typo that, …he is wooden !), Ranvir hams his way through with characteristic (read Bheja Fry) tacky mannerism acting ( Traffic Signal comes to mind as an exception in his defence ) and
Ms Takia doesnt merit a mention.
That brings us to Paresh Rawal who apparently tries to make up for a fractured directorial vision with his own interpretation of “modern day AnguliMala”, but in vain, …if you dont know where you are going, …you arent there yet !
Which brings me to the music. It was discordant for me ( though it can be argued – that was its purpose, …but hey ! it works that way only if there is order in your narrative).
The english tracks made me wonder “who is this film intended for ?” Mind you, 90% of the “educated metro moviegoers” who work in MNCs and speak “english” have an exposure to “english music” which is limited to “Sexy Eyes” and “The Ketchup Song”.They dont understand the difference between jazz and hip-hop.
… And you can work out what percentage the “metro moviegoers” contribute to the “national movie going population”.
I can bet the people who financed this cinematic suicide also want their money back.
All said and done, if you wanna preach, – address a community gathering, if you wanna be clever, – swindle somebody, if you wanna trip,- go to a rave party, …but if you wanna make a good film, empathy and humility will carry you a long way !
Arrogance doesnt a film make.
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Saw it yesterday with two ‘normal’ friends of mine..
Although they didnt get much of the movie and kept asking questions as the plot progressed, all of us agreed on the fact that the free wheeling flow of the movie made it quite an interesting watch.
This is one of those movies that i would keep a dvd of and as everytime i watch there would be something new to be experienced…on the lines of a donnie darko maybe ….
Anurag if you are reading this, then i would suggest that you build a website which can carry on the ethos of nietzsche :-)
Maybe NS could also be one of palahniuks cults of smokers trying to pull in one of their own into the baba bangali INC ……
Hey has anyone here read ‘The Carnivore’ by wachowski bros ?
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anurag…aap ke liye…ek hindi review and try to get sahara newspaper review… http://chavannichap.blogspot.com/2007/10/blog-post_6921.html
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I don’t think the indian audience is dumb.. they are just so used to be served.. they do not believe in self service..
they were too shocked.. Denial is also a reaction.. i m reading those people who are taking pleasure in bashing me up.. i don’t think taran or rajeev are biased, they are disappointed and angry..
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Hey Anurag,
I think ur doing a great work…plz keep it up…I mean for how long can we watch stupid running around the bushes movies? Some one has to bring the change & bring the revolution in the film industry & so far your doing it brilliantly. We are very proud to have you in the industry.
In mean, while I was also thinking if you are interested to encourage documentaries on our social problem in Mumbai city. I have lived abroad for few years, after coming back I was thinking of leaving coz I thought it is impossible to live here but then I thought I am just running away. Instead I have decided to take up a project, which would help creating awareness in people and also educate them about certain issues. I would not like to disclose the subject of the documentary as it is still under research but since you are my idol in the film industry I would like to know your thoughts.
Regards,
Chetana Jogi
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Great heart and pleanty of balls. I like your spirited defense of the film and my curiosity is piqued. Will certainly catch it when I get back to Delhi.
You know the limited and seriously retarded education of most film going folks (reviewers included) in India. They think Page 3 is edgy cinema – where, pray, where do you begin?
Make your films for audiences who appreciate the ‘work’ (folks who ‘get’ that its not necessary to understand a movie in order to appreciate it). They’re out there but outside India, sadly.
The quality of film criticism and reviewing in our country is pedestrian and uninspiring. Where is our Derek Malcolm?
I like your arrogance. Don’t let this nonsense water it down.
I am going to see the film…
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Mr.Anurag,
I had planned to see this movie. But by the way of your respect towards reviews and reviewers makes me think about it. What do you think, having managed to see some world cinema and just because the vast majority would not have seen em , trying to ape them and claim you are the last word in meaningful cinema. Learn respect and the art of listening & Learning before you learn fim making at all.
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naren i would seriously listen to what PL(A)YBACK says because that is criticism..You have to read khalid’s review before you remind me of respect..
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Saw the movie yesterday nite…still thinking about it…my mind is heavy…im trying to fit in the pieces in the puzzle…bought all the english dailies today…the saner review was by midday..and probably mumbai mirror (sandipan dalal)..he talks about passion for dark cinema.
my interpretaion of the movie is the journey between absurdity and reality n i shall take that line.
As Jassim has mentioned ..its one of those movies which you unravel something new everytime you see….everytime i think of NS..i find something new..its mindboggling and at the same time mindfucking.
Its beyond comprehension at first then the movie starts trickling down..slow and steady..it is trippy..it makes you think.
Will watch it again to delve deeper.
Good work Anurag
Stay the same….RESPECT ABSURDITY!!!:)
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Dear Khalid Mohammed,
Kashyap atleast made an honest attempt with a unconventional plot and also paid a honest homage to Bob Fosse.
What were you thinking when you dedicated your 3rd grade shit Tehzeeb to Ingmar Bergman? I am sure Ingmar Bergman would have appreciated the classic story of yours about Tehzeeb and Nazneen! Wah! That’s what great movies should all be about! Mentally Unstable sisters, Extra Marital Affairs, Loaded guns! WOW!!!! Khalid Mohammed, you sure know all about film making.
Yes, your other classic really mind numbed us! Silsiilay, the greatest movie ever made about who is fucking whom is cinematic genius! Who is this movie dedicated to?
Buddy Khals, your review reeks of personal animosity! At least do your job faithfully? If you still feel you need a platform to write about your personal opinions, why not start a blog? hehe! If you need any help in setting up a blog, do ask Anurag, I am sure he will help you through the setup.
Meanwhile, we are waiting for more movies from you. I am sure you are as we speak writing a script about some Mumtaz or Zeba having an affair with a reviewer and how the woman’s husband finds out about the affair by reading the reviewers reviews! Whoa!
Yesterday someone here asked me to send my review of No Smoking. I answered that I have not yet perfected the art of film making and in the process of still learning many things about Cinema so I do not bring myself to write a review.
Are you an expert on everything about films Mr.Mohammed? Do you know there are two kinds of films. One, a film maker tailors his movie for popular acceptance. Another, a film maker makes movies for himself and this is where we see new horizons of film making taking birth. Until film makers don’t stop exploring film making, we would be stuck in stories involving marital affairs, sleaze and nonsense!
Sadly, none of your films appealed either way. So shut up and write your reviews. We don’t care.
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The emperor has worn his new clothes.
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Articulating abstract thought. Do I do it well? Is it important that you understand a complex premise in its entirety or is it more important to feel it? Is it more important to draw a literal interpretation or more important to get a general feeling of what something was about.
I ponder these questions as I walk out of
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Havent seen the film yet, but I hope it does well to atleast recover money or even make some, so different cinema gets promoted. AK, hopefully you will shares your views and discuss the movie here with people on PFC.
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I am sorry to say this and i might be on the receiving end of a lot of gaalis for this but i am disappointed. I was expecting so much more after Black Friday, ….i was expecting a movie that would be kafka, pink floyd, david lynch,the who, hell tim burton even,,,,….i’m sorry to say it wasn’t even close…..but this is just the narrative part i’m talking about…..it just didn’t seem edgy enough to me…and seemed predictable…
however i loved your direction, the camera angles, the lighting was brilliant, the dialogues were killer, and who the hell knew JA could act (or should it be who the hell knew you could MAKE JA act?)?
I wouldn’t call it the worst movie of the year of course, in fact its closer to the best movie of the year than the worst considering all the yash raj crap that we’ve had thrown at us….but i would call it the biggest disappointment…..i just hope it garners enough attention to help you get the actors and producers you want for your next…..
btw the ‘chutiye retire ho ja, tera time khatam’ line killed me……LOL
waiting for the next one anurag!….hope you’ve started writing it….
PS: i caught the 3.45 show of No Smoking and immediately after saw Jab We Met at 7 30….must say JWM is pretty go too….:)
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@ Kapil Its playing in Houston and dallas check out www.funasia.net for timings….
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aaah,,….I’m going again this evening to watch it with a friend who idolizes Kafka…maybe ill enjoy it more with her…the first time i went with KJo fanatics:d
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Anurag
I thoroughly enjoyed the movie.
Exploring the subconscious mind and showing that on screen so beautifully – man it was quite an experience.
This movie laughs at the reviewers knowledge of cinema…no one got it right.
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BRILLIANT MOVIE ANURAG !!!
IT REMINDED ME OF THE KUBRICKISH STYLE OF MOVIES WHICH I ADMIRE VERY MUCH!!
THIS MOVIE HAS GIVEN INDIAN CINEMA A NEW SCOPE,A NEW GENRE !!!
KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK SIR!!!!
BEST OF LUCK!!
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one of the replies to the rediff review (someone had stated in their reply that the movie was a rip-off of some hollywood movie strring keanu reeves called ‘november Rain’, if you believe that.here’s the reply.
november rain was a song by guns n roses you dumbfuck…..there was a movie called sweet november starring keanu reeves and it was a rom-com.this movies rocks…its shitheads like hegde who dont understand it….what the fuck do you want in a movie…..boy meets girl boy fucks girl boy marries girl, girl almost dies boy fucks girl again…happily ever after ……IDIOTS!! go read a Franz Kafka book….or watch a david Lynch movie …you ignorant BOLLYSLUTS…..
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Its just reminds me of the situation when Stanley Kubrick was panned for making “2001: Space Odyssey”.One of the then critic had said that “This is the end of Kubrick”.(~ yeah sure ~)
Stay the same.
Up the Irons \m/
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Anurag boss, have been admiring your ideas and your work for sometime now. I regularly follow your blog like millions of your other fans. Yet to see No Smoking but I sure would and also buy a copy of the film’s DVD when it comes out here in Singapore.
Quoted you in one of my latest articles that was published in The Weekend Today (Singapore). Hope you don’t mind it:
“Emerging Bollywood writer and director Anurag Kashyap (Black Friday, 2007; No Smoking, 2007) cried on his blog: “Believe me, there is going to be a change in order in this Hindi film industry. There definitely is a new wave, I have seen it coming, the world is also seeing it which is why Ronnie Screwwala is on the cover of NEWSWEEK and not Aishwarya Rai or Yashraj or Amitabh Bachchan.”
“For upcoming filmmakers like Anurag, entry of Hollywood symbolises the end of the tyranny of the status quo in Bollywood, for Bollywood’s new blood wants an end of the dominance of the few “mom-and-pop” variety of filmmaking houses in the Hindi film industry.”
Here’s the url:
http://dreamink.blogspot.com/2007/10/bollywood-hollywired.html
The Weekend Today: http://www.todayonline.com/articles/218955.asp
Wish to interview you for a major story but don’t know how to reach you. Hope you see this and drop me a line at zafar@zafaranjum.com. Thanks much.
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Hey AK, asll’s not lost. Armageddon aint here yet. Check out dis link…
http://www.aol.in/bollywood/story/2007102606439019000001/index.html
Cheers to good cinema. and hey, NS is the first movie (after i started smoking) jiske interval mein i didn’t smoke. so i guess u made a point.
=d>
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Roshan Fraaam Sydney-
One simple question. Will you stop watching and appreciating these kind of movies after you turn 24 ?
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@Magik
Nice link. First review that did some homework before penning down the thoughts.
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@Anurag kashyap
Is it possible to release the movie on internet like Anish’s movie ? Think about it. The internet release (before DVD release) can also play a part in reaching foreign audience. Any takers.
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Anurag, I am sure your script must be looking really good on paper, it’s would have been even better when you narrated it to someone. Why? because you feel so much for the film and it’s fair after the fate of your last two films.
As an audience, who watched your film with so much expectation (I watched black friday and was amazed by the presentation), I would say I am disappointed. I would say you have taken your arrogant too far and have failed to turn a good script into a good movie just because you wanted to prove something.
Well, there are always more than one ways to say anything. The best way according to me is the one, where other person clearly understands what you want to say. Unfortunately in your way of communication you fail to communicate with the audience (which is necessary if you want your movie to make money for your producers).
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khalid’s a fag. so he’s bitchy. screw it. you the man
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The difference between RGV and the rest – RGV knows it when he has made a mistake and has no qualms about accepting it.
Anurag, the movie might be personal to you, but I must say you have failed to put across your point to the audience. I went to watch the movie with an open mind, but could not understand most of the scenes. The same happened to me when I had first seen Matrix, but Matrix was compelling enough for me to go back and watch it again and again. Sadly, I am not going to invest any more to understand this movie, as I found it gripping it only in parts.
Looking forward to your next release
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I haven’t seen the movie yet but am enjoying the utter chaos the film has created….am just forwarding a review by a guy who normally pans anything that comes out of Bollywood…except for CHAK DE…but here he’s different….
http://www.khullamkhulla.net/nosmoking.html
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Few reviewers who have been fair to Anurag’s No Smoking -
aol – http://www.aol.in/bollywood/story/2007102606439019000001/index.html
indya – http://news.indya.com/newsDetails.aspx?xfile=2007/October/News_20071026_272
mid-day – http://mid-day.com/hitlist/2007/october/166143.htm
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ur so arrogant anurag kyshap
evry single critic has given it under 3 stars except 1
http://www.allbollywood.com/v2/bd/stc/mov/n/700.shtml
Juss accept ur movie is bad
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Dear Anurag,
I agree with you that Khalid M. should retire totally & permanently. I have not yet seen the flick but will be definitely seeing it this week.
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i understand azad, you or many others might not like it, might even hate, when we set out to do it, we knew this would happen.. this was also to test the waters, to see how far one can go and now i know..
will do my best to reach out next time..
thanks
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Anurag…there is no doubt you have the passion, the will,the verve and the talent to make good, ‘alternate’(for the lack of a better word) cinema. And me and my bunch of friends understood the film, there was no problem at all. Infact, I like your take, politically, on fundamentalist moralising, you spared no side, and they shouldn’t be. I liked the conceptualisation as well, the fascist fantasy world was gripping, one was waiting.
But here is where it ended for me. The visual narrative was heavily overloaded by dialogue, the visual execution demanded more (at least, u can see what is expected of u, much more), John and Ayesha? Frankly, marrying world cinema audiences and our own homeground by using song and dance-big star/terrible actor-leaves it neither here, nor there. Am not satisfied because I want more craft, and the guy behind me is not satisfied because he can’t understand. You marry the two, am not saying its impossible, but i think it needs very, very very hard work to get a breakthrough.
As for you being disappointed with the reviews, well, personal or not, it was not a’wow!’ at all. Am sure you know that as well.
It may sound like highhandedness; even precocious, since am still on the way to become a filmmaker, not even there, might not ever be there, and you already have made some, but maybe its time to introspect and forget the world, they say and do all sorts of things?
I write this only because you are one of few filmmakers who one watches for the filmamker, like one did with RGV at some point, and not the movies themsleves.
Wish you the very best. yes, it was terribly disappointing. But its not all lost yet, you have many more movies to go, am sure.
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smoker joe.. on paper it was the same.. it actually was much more complex.. even the thought bubbles were put in as after thought to make some connection between the two siberias and make sense of annie and anjali in the songs..
guess need to simplify it more next time
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Hey Anurag,
I think ur doing a great work…plz keep it up…I mean for how long can we watch stupid running around the bushes movies? Some one has to bring the change & bring the revolution in the film industry & so far ur doing it brilliantly. We are very proud to have you in the industry.
In mean, while I was also thinking if you are interested to encourage documentaries on our social problem in Mumbai city. I have lived abroad for few years, after coming back I was thinking of leaving coz I thought it is impossible to live here but then I thought I am just running away. Instead I have decided to take up a project, which would help creating awareness in people and also educate them about certain issues. I would not like to disclose the subject of the documentary as it is still under research but since you are my idol in the film industry I would like to know ur thoughts.
Regards,
Chetana Jogi
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anurag thank you for making this film, after a long time came out of a theatre after watching an indian film with such feeling.
this film probably wont find too many people , but with time it would pave the way for directors to make more such films that go against the existing trends.
bravo sir for making this, hats off to you
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and sir can you please once write about the screenplay writing process of this film on pfc
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Anurag, to test the water you start from the top, not from the bottom. Anyways, although i didn’t understood/liked the movie, I wont say it’s a bad movie and I haven’t yet wrote my review, because I think I would not be able to do the justice to it. Still I am happy about the fact that at least someone is trying to do something different.
Read your Howard Roark post and would suggest don’t try to be him as you have rightly said, no one can be him.
I still think the movie would have been much better on paper and would like to read it, if you can share the script.
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nupur you are not being precocius..it’s actually very fair.. i m not upset with the reviews.. my favourite critic derek malcolm did not like the film, My anger is, actually was about people reviewing me and not the film and i let it out..
criticism is welcome..
and yes it is time to introspect..
but i do not regret this film.. thanks
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would put my script up soon
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@Anurag
like you said long time back for No smoking..”Smokers are jews, Ramados is hitler”
That said it all.
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would be looking forward to reading it, and did you follow any specific process while writing this?
and dont you think the second half of the movie could have been a little pacier?
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Judging from the reactions, i am sure to catch this movie this week, sounds just something i would love to see. The main criticicizm seems to be that the movie is very self indulgent , non compliant to the ‘bollywood’ norms. How can an artist not be self indulgant i ask ? Film making is an art , its an viewpoint of a man, his interpretation of the story. Anurag is one of the few revivalist film makers who should continue to make what he feels like. Anurag is like the fassbinder of india .. er minus the gay part ( he did verbalbash khalid)
For all those who really didnt like this movie, there is saawariya & om shanti om around the corner.
I dont really blame people like adarsh, khalid , they are actually either over the hill or intellectually challenged , they are unable to comprehend or understand cinema.
One chap who has been writing good reviews is the guy from indya[dot]com , atleast its a frank viewpoint on the movie.
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ANURAG, I WOULD LOVE YOUR THOUGHTS ON MY THOUGHTS BELOW. I WRITE THESE TO YOU BASED ON THE FACT THAT I HAVE BEEN A VIEWER AND STUDENT OF FILMS FOR OVER 25 OF MY 32 YEARS WALKING THIS EARTH. FOR THE FACT THAT I FOLLOW BOTH CANDY-FLOSS AND BLACK FILMS. AND LASTLY BECAUSE I AM AN ASPIRING SCRIPT WRITER.
If you were to ask me, No Smoking, has followed the classical 3-act structure thus far. Part 1 was the whole build-up to the film, including your very readable posts on PFC and the entire anti-critics, anti-YRF kind of filming. Part 2 was obviously the film itself. And Part 3 has been the reaction from critics, viewers and assorted industry voices.
As for Part 1, I leave it entirely to freedom of expression. You were free to air your views on NS and the critics, and YRF, and Khalid M, and they were justified in their comments vice versa.
Similar pattern for Part 3, a somewhat expected response from Messers Khalid M and Co. And a somewhat expected justification of NS from your side.
Now let’s come to Part 2…the proof of the pudding…No Smoking as a film itself.
Let’s see…I’ve seen Cat’s Eye (Quitters Inc)… I’ve followed films made by Bob Fosse (All that Jazz and all that jazz), the world of Franz Kafka, the movies of David Lynch, the work of Michel Gondry, etc. I’ve loved the way such work ‘disrupts’ your normal preconceived way of looking at things, and distills it in a way to affect your conscious and sub-conscious thereafter.
Whilst I loved most elements of No Smoking, I do feel Anurag that this film was not for the masses and certainly not even for most of the classes. For too long now, Indian audiences have been used to their staple spoon-feeding of paper thin plots, predictable outcomes, over the top histrionics and the like.
Hence I disagree with you wanting people to shed these long-worn skins and embrace NS with the warmth reserved for a cold drink at the end of a hot day. It just won’t happen. C’mon yaar, down here, people are used to a diet of seeing geriatric gentlemen with pot bellies romance nubile nymphets and avenge the rape of their sisters or the ill-treatment of their mothers, by flying through the air, catching bullets with their bare hands and changing 15 sets of multi-coloured costumes in the time it takes one to blink one’s eyes.
We as an industry would gladly nominate Abhishek Bachchan as Best Actor and Aishwariya Rai as Best Actress, even as we don’t even consider Ranvir Shoerey, Sudhir Mishra, Smriti Mishra and their like for similar awards. Ironically then, we offer the latter ‘Critic’s Awards’…man, critics were the ones who said ‘this film is not for you’, ‘this film is not aimed at backbenchers!’.
It’s a dog chasing his tail situation.
I firmly believe NS is a great experiment. It’s obviously been made the way you would like to see a film being made. It’s been made with both an intention to cock a snook at established systems within the industry, as well as with an eye to try and let audiences interpret movies, through their own looking glass, rather than the film maker fill in the blanks every time for them.
So has it failed? I really wouldn’t know. It was obvious that NS was never intended to make bushels of cash for Kumar Mangat and Vishal Bharadwaj. NS was never intended to be juxtaposed with Karan Johar’s films and spun down as a family entertainer. NS was never intended to ‘educate India’s burgeoning movie goers to this radical, noir style of film making which they haven’t been exposed to.’
NS was supposed to be a culmination of your own imagination, trails, tribulations, frustrations and sensitivies on the silver screen.
I wish it would have remained just that. Without the antecedents, the precedents, the qualifications and the justifications.
Anyway, I do put NS as one of the most daring, pathy breaking films to have accosted our senses in recent times. It may not be entertaining, or straight in narrative, or simple to digest, but last night as I craved for a smoke, I couldn’t help but think what it would be for me to enter Baba Bengali’s hell and go through life without ever having to point my middle finger at others!
Keep making films that appeal to you Anurag. But don’t justify them. Eventually, your language will justify everything that needs to be put to rest.
And yes, if you do want to lay your hands on a weird, twisted, wicked crime-murder-horror script, do give my inbox a tinkle on shantyarow@yahoo.com
I promise you, no disappointments lie in wait!
Thanks, Shantesh Row
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Anurugji , it was time that I had seen some movie when i was totally stripped out of my logically correct brainwave . The whole time I was trying to connect dots & ends to arrive at a logical conclusion . But just before the finish line the reality dawned and it seemed that you were always ahead of the viewer and may be twisting their heads a little . But our so called intelligent multiplex hopping viewer is not happy if someone is trying to ” screw thier minds” . I have seen this movie alone so to analyze the incoherent coherence and i can declare happily that my 150 bucks are more than reimbursed as i have to really apply my little creativity & imagination left .
Thanks for the gem ( surely this is the start and future stuff is much thought provoking)
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Anurag i am totally agree with u.and for that i like u seriously.
FOR Khalid Mohhammed
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Read Khalid’s review (i read them after watching the film, as i don’t trust any of their opinion. Also, there might be things they don’t like and I do.)
Well, he doesn’t seem to be reviewing the movie. In fact he chooses to talk less about the movie and more about the director.
Khalid is definitely up to settling some personal grudge (I know why).
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Yes, and for the record, I would put NS in the league of some films that have tickled my senses over the years – Being John Malkovic. Metamorphosis. Falling Down.
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@Anurag,
Was this movie meant to be dark comedy about smokers/smoking and political/authoritarian references added later, or was meant to be a be a dark comedy against political/authoritarian regime and smokers/smoking was used just a tool.
When I had first read The Trail, I loved it as became an every man’s story. Nothing was mentioned abt the crime committed. I know some of my friends who disliked this aspect of the novel, but this worked for me. When I had first read abt NO Smoking, I thought it would be my story, as I am a smoker myself and I often speak abt my right to smoke, if I want to. But sadly, I could not relate to the movie.
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anupama chopra of ndtv has given the film a very good review
here is the link
http://www.ndtvmovies.com/reviews.asp?lang=hindi&id=275&moviename=No+Smoking
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AZAD.. it is many and every things..i don’t know which was first..offcourse the smoking was first, when i heard the story from ramu.. but i guess what attaracted me was the parallel it could draw with the latter..
but believe me it was mostly subconscious writing as it took place during my darkest peiod, when i was trying to understand why me, so a lot of what was happening seeped in..
and it wasn’t about who is right or wrong.. it’s about what just is between morality and freedom to choose, judgement versus free to be,it can be interpreted anywhich way provided people want to..
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if i remember correctly Taran adarsh called kaal “new age cinema’ or animation of parrot in MPKDH “groundbreaing” and yea ha liked Hawa???
hmmmmmmmmm????????????[-([-(
as for khalid mohammed
is he mentally retarded cause his reviwes are like reviwes from person who has some menatal issues:w;:w;
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MR Kashyap the movie is as complicated as what has been written by u above!!!
An absolute disaster after a cinematic beauty like Black Friday!!!!
I request u to kindly go for Pawan Malhotra instead of such idiotic actors such as John(sucks) Abrahim(Machisshhhhhhh!!!!!)
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Hey Anurag, Loved the film.reminded me of david lynch and mulholland dr. and you dont have to explain everything in the film.it is brilliant the way it is now.thanx for a great cinematic experience….
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@ anurag
I have been putting my interpretations in this particular thread…I would love to know your interpretaions..the thought which you harboured during the making.Probably in a nutshell…it will be great..Thanks
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i read khalid mohammed’s review in HT and put a feedback message asking “where is the review in this?”…i was almost aghast at seeing similar kind of expressions all over PFC…in oz’s post ,, here above….
i wud have lost the respect if i had not seen AK’s reply to playback accepting his article as real criticism…thats the right attitude
its time yaar to stop spitting venom..
and then…i havent seen NS so no comments..i know u r the writer of satya..i liked it..so i expect ur movies will be good..
my personal message to both filmmakers and reviewers…Indian film viewing public is not stupid, but they are not all well versed with the language of cinema..it depends on they way you communicate to them…and its the reviewers/critic’s duty to ensure that the finer nuances of cinema is presented to the viewing public…in short u need to tell them WHY so-and-so cinema is good or bad or whatever it is..
Of course for that the critic shud have deep knowledge about the art of cinema…which sadly i dont see in anybody…
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Anurag Kashyap..u r amazin man! completely..love the way u direct movies…pah classic u r! n i need some help frm u..can i contact u thru this webpage or is there a better way to reach u?
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well anurag i liked it alot watched it yesterday at night show cannot take it out from mind, specially the last scene when d soul of jhon is shown crying seening his body standing after he quits smoking………..mindblowing stuff but i would like to mention two hings perticularly
1. dont you think 1st u need to make some movies which people can comprehend easily ( i think black friday was brilliant and comprehendable by everyone also) coz uc as a director u need to cut ur ice with viewers in larger prospect so that ppl will have a flexible mindset to accept your kind of cinema, if u can write something like kaun, satya and can direct black friday u surely can make something more appealing to gernal public and not to ur ego, c afterall some else’s money is riding on the film.
2. wat abt a sequel Mr. Kashyap after all u’ve gone through wat u’ve shown but ultimately u bounced back…….. may b same cud happen with innerself of K. think abt it, i would like to associate with u in ur future projects.
P.S. wen can i get to c paanch or gulaal plz upload atleast some portion or if possible its script.
ALL D BEST
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anuragji , so i was right that indian viewers have still not graduated to the movies which are not playing stereotypes . see the comparison in the following weblink .
http://www.boxofficeindia.com/
I hope u r not worried about the 15-20% attendance and will go on making the movies which stimulate ur left & right minds.
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Anurag Sir,
I dont know what prompted you to give your point of view of this film because this film could have more than one meaning(interpretaions)….but once you have said the film was based on you….there is no point in making different interpretations of this film…..as for the film it was a good and brave effort put up by you…..much better than your previous Black Friday which left me dissapointed but this one was really good.
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After watching the film, there were several thoughts in my mind. Like
1. Is this movie about a man’s struggle to live in this bad bad world on his own terms? Smoking is used as a symbol. K wants to live his life the way he wants, but the world around him is not letting him do so. Finally he gives up and starts living his life the way others want him to.
2. The movie has been shot from two different points of view, one is how K sees himself and other is how others see him. Whatever you see in most of the movie is probably his hallucinations although to others he looks normal. Baba Bangali, his Prayogshala, the character following him all are in his mind.
3. You have to loose your soul in order to survive in this world, because there are people around you, who have expectation from you and there are people whom you care about. All these things does not let you live the way you would have wanted to. If you do something without approval of others, your loved ones might get hurt (K’s brother committing suicide) or you will be forced not to do it (baba bangali and his tactics). There are always people telling you to live your life in a certain way (K’s wife and friends)and somewhere down the line you give up.
4. If you do something wrong you are punished (cutting fingers, torturing your loved ones, making you deaf), but same can be undone if you repent and make up for your mistakes. (fingers coming back for recommending another client).
http://gauravt168.blogspot.com/2007/10/no-smoking.html
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Anurag sir dont worry about reviews..people are saying bad things about ur movie cause u r genius and they cant think the way u think…Anurag sir you bringing a philosopher’s eye to cinema,and film as a medium of philosophical expression You are a wonderful writer,someone who writes. It sounds obvious, but many people who call themselves writers don’t produce enough words in a year to fill a postcard..The reality of writing is not what many people believe it to be.I dont think that i need to say more cause u r a genius. Remeber one thing when it comes to film making that……
“Anything you build on a large scale or with intense passion invites chaos.” ~ Francis Ford Coppola
With best wishes
Sahiba
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Oz,
I don’t understand one thing. Why are the
“regulars” (am using this word as I realise you hate the use of a generic “PFC”) on PFC so out there to “protect” this film?
It’s not an “indie” film by any standards…
– A budget of 15 crores (phew!)
– A top-star on posters…ace character artists.
– Shot abroad extensively, I hear
– Item songs and all from one of the hottest sirens in Bolly-town
– Backing from a reasonably big producer.
– Music and lyrics by two of the biggest names.
– Huge and well-sustained marketing effort.
– Regular, even irritatingly so, unpaid media coverage everyday for the last couple of months (John-Bipasha fights and makeups and more fights, the Director’s maid not cleaning his utensils well et al, World Premierin Rome etc.)
It’s a BIG film, no two ways about it. So why these kidgloves, if I may ask? It’s not an “indie” baby like Manorama SFU or similar such small films, so why this attempt to cottonwool it?
The movie is out there…a big release – good and enough show timings in all big halls. For audience to see, for critics to review, for people to like or dislike. Let the world decide whether it’s a good film or not. What this desperation from PFC (I know…who is PFC…but you and me) to protect it against all costs. It’s a movie which a director has made and put up in the showcase – LIKE EVERY OTHER DIRECTOR IN BOLLYWOOD DOES – and it is going to be a hit or flop, solely depending on its merit (as, we have just seen, it has got all the right backings to succeed). So why do the critics suddenly turn moron when it comes to reviewing this film? Even if we assume that they were always morons, why bring it up NOW?
Why are we afraid THIS TIME to let this movie be “judged” fairly and squarely, by the audience and by the critics? I haven’t seen the film (but have really been wanting to as I am a writer and I really admire Anurag’s work both as a writer as well as director), but frankly, all this jingoism that I am seeing here is putting me off. Quite a few of my friends have echoed similar sentiments. I hate to put this here, but one of them almost sounded dreadfully vengeful when he said – “Haan, uchhalne do inko…inhi 10-12 changu mangu ko baith ke dekhne do…aur jab flop ho jaayegi to aukaat mein aa jaayenge…abki baar to koi sympathy wave bhi nahi hai.”
The MBA-school I went to had a way of treating its “weaker” students to a “preparatory crash” course before the start of the regular program. Why are we trying to tell the audience / critics to first see every film ever made from the noir genre before they go and see this film?
Laying down these pre-requisites could have worked with a bunch of moony-eyed MBA-hopefuls. For an audience which is going to fork out its hard-earned money for the film, it’s not going to work. In the here and now, it’s just going to be the film. Out on display. Stark naked. For the buyers to lascivate, or give it a pass.
Sad…but such is life…in showbiz!
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Why all this “critic bashing”? Like all of us, they too are entitled to their opinions – good or bad. If you don’t agree with them, simply ignore them. See the film for yourself and decide! That’s what I am going to do.
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@Shravani
You could have ignored but chose to opine what you thought is correct. The same stands true for the poster too.
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I dont care what anybody says, anurag kashyap is the sort of director that is gonna take indian cinema to another level. original brave films made from the heart not from the pocket.im from the enlgand, leeds and im gonna definetly watch the film in the cinema, because such passionate honest filmaking should be encouraged, yash raj come on stop hiding, anurag is gonna be world renowed in ten years times, make a film with Sanjay Dutt keep up the good work
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well….mr anurag kahyap……if u think that u r better than everyone in our film industry then ur wrong…..ur film sucked……ram gopal ki sholay was better than that…….its no suprise that most of ur films dont get released……so now instead of wasting ur time in criticizing filmmakers like karan johar and yash raj….it would be better if u concentrate in making a better script………otherwise ur next movie DEVD would be even worse than no smoking….and stop thinking that ur a blessing to the indian film industry……..
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This article should have been placed for the audience before the film started because if the director fails to explain the idea through his frames, I see no other way. Some people may try to be among the so called intelligensia by praising NS but if some thing fails with the audience, then lot of retrospection is required, not just by the director, but for the producers and few very important personalities assocated with the project. Anyways, looking forward to Anurag Kashyap’s next ventue. A suggestion however. I heard Anurag speaking earlier he wanted it to be a 100 minute film. I think, cutting NS still further and converting it into a 30 minute short would be good idea. Lotto repetitive frames could be removed.
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Anurag,
Saw the movies and it is a very good one, though some obvious flaws make it fall somewhat short.
Art has a life of its own beyond what the artist attempts to give to it. This life is imbued by the people who attempt to construe it, the interpreters.
I guess I have my own interpretation, which differs from the one given by you (which I find somewhat unnecessary, since a self-critique does not raise the value of a work but belittles it somewhat, since it reveals a sense of insecurity in the creator’s mind with regard to the value of his work). K’s struggle is to preserve a freedom that transgresses on the the freedoms of other members of the society to which he belongs (unlike the Trial’s protagonist). Smoking is more important to him than his brother’s asthma problem, the relationship with his wife, even simple civility (as his reaction to the old woman in the lift shows). K refuses to acknowledge that membership within a society transfers certain freedoms as well as certain responsibilities on the member.
He is finally jolted out of his obstinate and somewhat immature delusional world by his wife’s walking out on him. His decision to quit smoking is quite temporary, just a ruse to get his comfort zone established again.
What follows is a metaphor for any bad habit of an individual or society; the struggle to hold on to it despite the mounting costs, and the wish to let it go. The initial reaction to Dr Bengali’s pronouncement is obstinacy, much like any patient who has been informed of the inevitability of a life-threatening disease (similar to society’s reactions to predictions about environment etc, corroborated by the shots of Mumbai smog and slums) and measures that should be immediately taken to contain the inevitable. “This is not happening to me”, says K and pretends that he can cheat the destiny that his habit has written for him. As every step starts confirming the predictions, K loses the shield of arrogance. At each step he is given a choice, to either quit smoking or pay a bigger price, but all his choices are the ones that would immediately alleviate his current stress (much like taking a smoke in response to stress despite knowing that your health is giving up on you), rather than the one that solves the main problem. He smokes his cigarette dry, despite knowing that his brother is dying because of that action, wanting to prove himself innocent. The commitment that his brother shows to his suicide (the repeated attempts until success), is metaphorical of K’s commitment to his own downfall to retain his freedom to smoke. The last situation is K’s final attempt to escape his situation, knowing that the last smoke will get him death, and hence escape, he hurtles towards it.
The subsequent dialogue with other prisoners reveals to K that he is finally ready to be cleansed. This point represents the point at which the protagonist is convinced of the need for change. The 1 rupee ’shagun’ represents the wish that K has always been lacking (which I thought he should have discovered with him by now, given by the eunuch) to complete his conversion to a complete member of the society, who not only enjoys the freedoms it bestows, but also accepts certain responsibilities.
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 once he has disposed off his responsibility.
Even if the director rubbishes my view, I still liked the movie, for it was brilliantly done. Besides, as I said, the beauty of art is that it takes it own form and appeals to everyone in a different way.
My advice to the director: Again, continuing the discussion on what good art should be, the artist should not try to become bigger than his/her creation. The movie fails in the moments in which Anurag Kashyap attempts to wrest the spotlight from his work. The biggest challenge in front of creative people is to restrain and unleash their creativity at the right times. Sometimes, less is more. We could’ve done without the thought bubbles and the Anjali-Annie duality, since that does not add to movie experience.
The final word: The bravest Hindi movie I’ve seen ever. I like the challenge, even if you don’t think I was up to it this time. Keep them coming.
-Nikhil
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Hi Anurag,
Saw the movie, brilliantly done…one of the true noir films to come out of India. The pace could have been tighter and subplots cud use some trimming….
This is the kind of movie that people are gonna hate but 15 years down the line its gonna be hailed as a masterpiece. Watching it gave me a sense of deja vu from the directorial point of view…there were certain sequesnces where i felt I am watching the great STANLEY KUBRICK’S work… how much of his work has influenced you??
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I don’t think the “regulars” or anybody is trying to defend anything here.
Well, finally it all depends on what exactly you guys want? Okay agreed that Anurag got a 15 crore movie with all the stars and the necessary distribution back up. What will make you guys happy? A “No Smoking” with Allan-Amin as the stunt director, John Abraham as a secret agent in Siberia trying to steal a cigarette formula that will make people quit smoking with just one puff and the tobacco lobby is behind his life and Uday Chopra thrown in for some comedy plus some songs by Vishal-Shekar and Shankar-Ehsan-Loy?
Also add some spicy songs featuring Bipasha walking out from the sea in a sexy Bikini?
Let the movie that Anurag made be bad, fuck all or can’t understand a shit or anything…Let it be inspired by any fucking movie. But at least there is an effort to do something new. Well, he is a young director, bound to fall down sometimes but admire his courage man! Any other director would have chosen a “safe” subject after the halo of Black Friday. I am just waiting for the day this guy masters the technique. It can be a few films down but it’s worth the wait.
Other than that, let the BO results do the talking meanwhile, whether good or bad.
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HOLY FUCKING shit!!! i didnt read ur post or any other post on no smoking cuz i wanted to finish my conversation first…
HOLy fucking SHIT!!! i need to put a disclaimer on my post now i guess..
‘about the time when the conversation takes place’
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Anurag, saw your movie yesterday. The story was loosely taken from Quitters Inc . The parallel drawn between a smoker being made to quit and society forcing conformity was a good potential scrpt. What the movie lacked was cinematic articulation of your ideas. This left audience bewildered. Giving reference ” Memento” , “Matrix”, ” Fight Club” etc all had path breaking cinematic treatment. But each were successful because all had a clear logic flow which became clear at the end of the movie. But “No Smoking” leaves too many questions unanwered for the story to be called a complete cinema. It rather looks like a collage of dream sequences of a chain smoker which defies any logic.
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I really liked “NO SMOKING”.The movie is cool,stylish,grim,surreal and one draining/depressive journey through the human psyche.
-The cinematography is resplendent.Nice art direction.The movie is a complete visual treat.
-Soothing OST.
-Good performances.
As far as the story is concerned :- :d Surreal movies are meant to be one cryptic puzzle and the audiences are left to decipher it !
Brilliant efforts by Mr. Anurag Kashyap.:)>-
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Holy cow! That’s some serious business. Incidentally, I don’t mind the part on Khalid. Ignoring prafanities, I would definitely agree with Kashyap.
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Hey AnuRAG.
Brillaint Piece of work, loved every bit of it, specially the way couple of shots were done, the cinematography, background score, art direction, Dialogues,,i actually waited for audience reaction ther were confused and dejected and felt cheated as they felt that it was not justified,, they were expecting a clear cut tale like,,,in da start when he is shot in serbia and its shown as dream,, there were this 2 womens who were guesssin till the last minute that BOOOOOM ab bolge ke yeh drem tha,,,movie did remind me of JACKET, and MEMENTO for the tretament,,,,,kinda de ja vu feeeling waise am not a literary orinted fella althouh am highly exposed to world cinema i have my own collections of 250 GIGS of classics,,,,,aur indian review ko tho bhool jaao do what u feeel is right…this is a chapter in art of making meaningful cinema which is tough but intersting,,,,,
WAITING FOR GULAL… by da way yeh baba bangali ka charcter mum ke local train ke AD se tho nahi liya na??????
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Jab Admi Gusse mai Ho tab usse advise nahi deni chahiye :D
Let the dust settle down.. Let everything be over and out..Then we can talk abt NS again..Dont explain the idea and rational.. Picture bana rahe ho ya painting bana rahe ho.. reminds me ek circle bana diya aur keh diya ye aurat hai.. :D
Filhaal i wanna know Anurag what u planning to do since NO SMOKING ka dabba gul ho chuka hai.. Critics have written it off and moresoever JAB WE MET got good reviews.. obviously there is a choice for the viewer over here..I wud hope NS also to do well.. This is just for Black Friday and the movie passion you have.. NS to maine dekhi nahi hai..
To all Anurag movie lovers and Anurag
Ya to baith ke rote raho ki saalo ne movie ko samjha hi nahi..
Ya fir
Couple of suggestions
1. Get a new promo for the movie where moviewatchers are talkin abt the movie..Go ahead and let some of the ppl who liked the movie say exactly what they have said.. ” Its unconventional.. Let them make statements like not many wud like it but its a brilliant film..I can see some nice things said abt the movie on this blog itself.
ANURAG – THE SOONER YOU DO THIS THE BETTER IT IS.. DONT DISREGARD IT.
2. Everyone who liked the movie, plesae go ahead and take part in the mirror poll and rate the movie as rocking..Use the system.. Yaha Poll results will try to justify the reviews.. Please go ahead and punch in your views.. there are hardly ppl who respond to this..
3. Everyone who liked the film, make sure you talk abt it..promote it in your own freakin way..if you did not like the film keep your mouth shut LOLzzz..Ye log ne movie barabar promote hi nahi ki yaar..Ye film viewer ke paise bhi nahi dubayegi kyonke not many ppl will go to watch..
After reading this, dont just say ye dekho kya bak raha hai..Change you laidback attitude..Change your freakin mindset..
Please get out of your ” Bhaad mai Jayee” attitude.. Iam thinkin abt the producers actually.. Next time koi 10 baar sochega iski movie mai paisa lagane se..
Iam only saying assemble yourself .. Ya to Mar JAA ya ladte ladte Mar…ACT NOW.
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ABSURDITY ROCKS !!!
Much has been said about how bad or good the film was but no one actually sat down to analyse it the way u have done it. You are spot on in your interpretation of the so called ‘year’s worst film’.
There will always be bad criticism for any novel attempt-be it cinema or art. But imagine if the same film had been attempted by Karan Johar (which he would’nt have in his wildest dreams) the criticism would have been more subdued or he could even had been applauded for breaking into new ground.
It is quite evident that the critics are bored of thrashing the same sub-standard fare dished out week after week so when they get a whiff of some refreshingly new content which they can’t decipher, they spare no bones to rip it apart.
No person in this universe can decide how cinema should be or what it should deliver. It has always been an expression of an individual and will always be. And expressions cannot and should not be controlled.
There are a select few who get it right the first time. For a Swades to be created, there had to be a Pehla Nasha, Baazi and Lagaan. Similarly, for a RDB-there had to be an Aks. Atleast these filmmakers are challenging our minds and sensibilities by delivering good cinema.
The same applies to Anurag Kashyap. He ain’t no god of filmmaking…still has a long way to go but after watching No Smoking….even a kid can see that given a typical bollywood script, AK will make it 10 times better than any other director. But if a KJo or a Dharmesh Darshan is asked to make No Smoking….they will piss in their pyjamas !
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Didnt like the movie..specifically the 2nd part…cant stand the crap that has been dished at some blogs callin all the people who didnt like the movie as ‘idiots’ … intelligent my foot…At the end of the movie I wanted to educate the people who were saying I didnt understand the movie…but something else was tellin me that some “Iam-so-different-coz-I-liked-the-movie” guys would be requiring more of my ‘education’…Iam not callin it the worst movie of the year…It was average…but it is no ‘eternal sunshine of the spotless mind’….The first half was very interesting and entertaining … the 2nd half to me was BULLSHIT (complexity just for the sake of it)…Anurag u might have loved wat u made…u might call it better than black friday..But as much as I want to proclaim to the world that you are the best thing that has happened to indian cinema I also cant convince myself that NO Smoking was truly smoking….The cinematography was superb though
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Anurag… u r born in a wrong country. u dnt belong here. ppl here are accustomed of seeing easy,colourful cinema. movies like Partner are still a huge hit here. in shrt u need nt mind wht they say n think abt ur movies. i havnt seen NS yet but ur interpretation of the story has fired me up to go n watch it as soon as possible.
n i wld appreciate ur effort even if i wont like it (n thts unlikely). cos ur one Black Friday has made me ur biggest supporter (i wont say fan) for coming many decades. i consider it equal to Munich (no kidding).
so jst keep speaking ur heart Anurag. n dnt expect this bollywood janta to support u who think tht Yashraj Chopra is a living legend and Amir Khan is no less than Tom Hanks n Al Pacino.
(cummon… Tom Hanks wont ever do a Fanaa.)
Direct till u die!
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Dear mr. kashyap
Shakalaka boom boom, Paisa vasool, main aisa hi hoon, jhoom barabar jhoom, well now i don’t want to blame just the makers. Because i think you are capable to write them, the way they were.
I liked your black friday.
I hated your no smoking.
Point is just not to understand the philosophy of your film, the philosophy is clear. narrative is bad. Journey also matters.
I will suggest you to seriously think of joining politics. You have an art that our great “corrupt” politicians have.
i will suggest you to work there then to call people “chutiya”. why to abuse people? Don’t sound frustrated. If you want to fight, make good films.
I will love to see your next movie.
I still have hopes from you.
Talk less and concentrate more on your film making.
all the best
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well i thought u completely lost the plot in the second half…dint understand all that being said abt aatma and body etc…but somen told me to read the blog, like he’s telling everyone..but how many will read it before or after watching the film???
Loved what you said to khalid mohammad…now this guy seriously is a cocky arrogant bastard who cant do anything but sit on his ass and write off other people
this is the only film in which john has acted well…and ofcourse the ample showcasing that his abs got couldnt have gone unnoticed either
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Sir,
the moment I saw the promo for the first time about a month back, I knew that this film would flop badly, it would be thrashed by the critics and very very few people will actually appreciate this film! Now if I can understand that having seen the promo, I am sure you knew that all along when making this film that it did not have an audience in India!! However u still made it, which is great..because there are times when one must express himself regardless of whether anyone understands or not!
Look forward to your next films!! Dont pay attention to the reaction and do that where your passion lies – make more movies :D
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Khalid Mohammad writes half page reviews of Karan Johar’s Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and K3G and gives it 5/5 stars…gives KANK 4/5 stars….
Is their sexual preference mutual admiration society at work there?
He calls KJo’s childish namaaz scene by the kid gal in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai a homage!…wow man!!!
Khalid hiding behind his madhu mottis in HT Tabloid fulfills his ambition of daily hittg at everyone he thinks hate him.
After 3 masterpieces that he has made…each an “inspiration” from a Hollywood flick has no write pointing fingers on others!
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Karan Johar has lambasted you in Mid-day sayg u need psychiatric treatment….
Awaiting ur response to him!
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Karan Johar’s latest on Anurag Kashyap –
http://www.mid-day.com/hitlist/2007/october/166102.htm
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Let
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The very first doubt came to my mind when i finished watching collection Mr K’s Konfused hallucinations is why did AK finished the movie after 2 hours? I mean to say, given the story he could have finished it in little bit more than one hour then why did he take pains to show all those weird things for next 40-45 mins? And if you really wanted to show your movie making skills then why did u stop after 2 hours? you could have shown more surreal melodrama or did you run out of ideas or may be you thought if you continue this for some more time then people will probably tore down the screen and burn the theater? I didn’t try to understand the movie but i’d really like to know what made you think that this should be logical ending for this movie?
If this is so personal and close to your heart, then you should have kept it to your movie shelf, why did you make us pay for what you wanted to do?
The very first feeling i got after watching movie was director made fun of innocent people like me who spent 200 bucks to see something he made for himself not for us. Well i don’t blame you, coz i was fooled by publicity in past also, but i was not expecting this from you.
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@Ologadhvo
Now suddenly, Oscars are big daddies???????
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Hey anurag…..black friday was pathbreaking cinema….with no smoking u ventured urself into unchartered territory…but u failed miserably with this effort of urs…See the box office verdict doesnt matter if the film is really good…The only thing i would advise you is that dont turn urself into another ramu……you would absolutely love ur film..but to say its better than black friday would be an understatement…obviously people are disappionted because they had huge expectations from u….still i would advise you to take all the feedback ur getting for no smoking positively than arrogantly……..someday i want you to make a film like cineme paradiso
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It’s a matter of choice : liberty one gets knowing that there are few who will stand by your choice and many wont or otherwise, freedom of expression knowing that a few or many wont probably understand … there is no discussion in there.. the point is each expresses solely for one’s satisfaction or according to what people expect if that is important to that person.
Fantastic to see someone open doors for new forms of expression in Indian cinema – I remember Rakesh Mehra’s Aks ( obviously audiences didnt see that “masala” element or whatever ), why what about the many movies like Ijaazat ( where the concept of living in was shown in the bloody 80’s !! ). Arrogance that is shown in No Smoking is very much a part of each smokers daily life in the mind – K’s bathtub is my shitpot – where most of the best thoughts run everyday.
Anurag’s detailing in the comment posted in here a little earlier irked me to write this – sure that the film isnt something our junta will understand since the majority of cinema is still basking under a few clans, and that we are so used to “keeping our brains at home” and we only want “entertainment” – can you imagine in 2007 with the Sensex hitting 19000 points and high FDI investments, Partner is one of the biggest hits of this country. :d/
Hell will it take for such cinema to even see wider acclaim considering it also hurts “bijness sense ” of many successful film makers – the point is not that I dont enjoy their creations – it is about an UNBIASED attitude towards cinema which is imperative for it to flourish and allow many more such stories to see light of the day.
John has looked the best he has ever looked in any of his films with a much leaner body and the “no one tells me what to do” is so much true in almost every man’s life i know and why men, also women!! And lets just sit back and remember – our mind is exactly like this film – random thoughts which have a common thread or that “hidden element / message” which many have mentioned in this column – can we please give a standing applause to a man who has proved it yet again of his prowess of putting it together!
Cheers to you Anurag, Black Friday was the finest [presentation I have ever seen on screen of a tragic event and your eye-for-detail is miles beyond anyone I see existing today.
And for No Smoking – all smokers will love this film ( cos there are many who have also taken professional help to quit) and know what is in the mind, the film touches those who are a little literate ( not necessarily educated ) and have a sense of their own.
the “jab bhi cigarette jalti hai” song was the best choreographed and filmed song I have seen in recent times comparable to “international” cinema if I may say, ” phook le” in the end is awesome nothing cos Rekha Bharadwaj’s voice for Bipasha is just a hit!
Many congratulations to you Anurag and would be great if you manage to read what I have scribbled.
We have met once.
Cheers!!
:o:o
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now i saw no smoking first day first show saying my mom “ki main classes jaa raha hoon”reading ur blog for 10 months n always reading abt nosmoking iwaited 4 this movie for 9 months ………………no thats not a story of a woman getting pregnant but thats a despo waiting to watch the most differnt form of screenplay ever in an indian film ……….. now i loved the movie …..bot the guys in pvr(audience)nwhich included my frnds too said areey ye wapas sapna dekh raha hai ………….”arrey ye kya chutiya bana raha hai yeh toh zinda hai” in the movie the movie goes back n shows the start frm a differnt angle most pple diddnt understand my frnd who is also u r fan hated it he said “anurag kashyap ek gandu hai jisne ek gandu film banai hai”…………………………………. as critics r concerned i also always believed we hav rajeev masand the only critic …………………………….he understand cinema better than anybody and has watched so many movies that he is an encyclopedia i himself the other guy i know who has watched so many movies is sajid khan but i guess he prefers more commercial movies n make the same kind ………………..anyways by seeing the audience reaction in the theatre n the reviews the film is gonna flop fpr sure hope it dosen!!!:-?:-?
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It amazes me to read comments on the mental abilities of the Indian writers on this blog by existing and aspiring filmmakers and writers. Spoon feeding or not, I object to the way some of you guys deride the audience. Excuse me, who do you make films for? And excuse me, the same member of the audience that you are talking down to pays more than Rs 200 to see something you have made! And it’s not like you don’t care whether or not the audience comes in the theatre to see YOUR great OEUVRE. Oh you care, care badly because that determines whether or not you will get another chance to make a film. You cannot be talking down to your audience because of whom you are earing your bread and fulfiling your creativity. If that’s the kind of attitude some of you filmmakers have then why release films at all? Just make one with your handycam and screen it in your living room and feel superior. Don’t come knocking at the audience door if you don’t respect them. It’s all about respect and as an audience I don’t much care for this tone!!!
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the movie was go0od though i had some questions in my mind after the movie :-?……….ok waited 4 the movie 4 nine months n it was satsifying to see that i waited for a a film which was a little short of masterpiece ……………………though at pvr the audience didnt like it n there were sounds of kya chutiya bana raha hai yaar ……………kya yeh phir sapna dekh raha hai ………………….the movie is a flop coz neither it has got a thumbs up frm the audience nor the crthe latter does not matter much coz as u said except rajeev no one understands cinema
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sorry instead of writers in the first sentence i meant audience!!! so the revised sentence is:
It amazes me to read comments on the mental abilities of the Indian Audience on this blog by existing and aspiring filmmakers and writers.
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So Anurag Kashyap has finally done his two mentors proud. A film that’s as heart-felt and internal as Aag, and about as watchable as Ekalavya. Perhaps its true. We are all doomed to become the people we hate.
But Anurag’s managed something the Daddy-duo never did. He got us to love him. Through Khauf, Paisa Wasool, Main Aisa Hi Hoon and Shaka-Laka Boom-Boom… a generation of admirers celebrating his brilliance and his passion.
Genius is dead. Long live genius.
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SOMEBODY BAN TARAN ADARSH , he has consistently taken money and reviewed movies – DALAL!! One example is his review for main prem ki diwani hoon (( wish I could find it) and week after week I seen many more.
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hey Anurag,
I am a great fan of Black Friday… admired your style of presentation (of what you can say a documentary). . I saw NS first show and considering it was quite morning for moviegoers (only who breathe/love cinema can, or who wants to pass time will go to see morning shows) and knowing that it is coming from Kashyap, the “time pass” audience is not expected obviously..
now lets come back to BF … you know why I liked that movie or whoever liked it, because it was a Truth/Reality presented in very smooth way infront of the audience enveloped in Ak’s STYLE… which was TOOO GOOD… again this movie also didn’t get family audience(mother father kids) coz it was/is a sensible cinema which was not promising entertainment… so obviously the next product will more or less will get the same kind of audience who appreciated your BF…
First reaction of mine after watching movie : “BLANK! CONFUSED!” I had heard a simple one line of the story (another version of the 1947 novel, from which i assume you also picked up story line and i quite liked it ) and to my disappointment i couldn’t understood your point of view…
but now after reading your blog I can relate to the movie what you wanted to say… but…but anurag the only problem with the movie is no-one seems to understand what is there you want to CONVEY!! you can say/show whatever you like but show it in a bit smoother way please…
I am sure its not that you dont want to be appreciated as mainstream cinema director… otherwise you wouldn’t have opted for john and probably wouldn’t have created an item number with bipasha basu..
All the best..
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and who likes an arrogant film with no story to understand. make it a home video instead but yeah i guess no point in taht u see. great work i am sure, if u say so.
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Talk abt co-relation ..Sigh.
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anur
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Anurag Sir,
What did the character J mean ?
1. Was used only for the comic element in the film
2. J as was K’s brother who was asthematic might have stood for your fellow directors who might like to smoke(make good films) or might not but are forced to make bad films.
3. J meant producers who again because asthematic makes bad films for money
If it is the second one then, how come J suffers from censor board whenever K makes a good film. In India it is the other way round.
If it is the third one then, it goes true because in India a good film suffers in terms of money.
There was also a scene where Baba Bengali said the first time you smoke, your brother will be put in a room having the smoke of all the cigarettes you have smoked…..meaning whenever you make a good film your brother…………….????????(I didnt get it).
The girl just before the intermission who said to K not to make good films……might have been audience…..then how come she landed up in hospital….????? My view point – because good films may have some violent scenes which the girl could bear.
The scene on ice…..where K takes a cigarette and asks for matchbox….what did that mean….????
My view point – he asked for producers instead he got shot.
What did the police men represent who were investigating K’s wife murder????? And Abbas Tyrewala comes up and says K not to say anything about the censors to them else it will make his life worse……what did that mean??????
I thought K’s two broken fingers in the end of the film meant the films of yours which got banned?????Now why did you show K asking others to go to Baba Bengali to get his fingers back??????
The same way how did Abbas get his back when he sent K????? What did this mean?????
A few lines in your film was very cleverly written…I appreciate that but I think you unnecessarily complicated the film…..which was as it is complicated???? But it was a good effort by you altogether. Hope you solve my above questions????
Thankyou
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from all the buzz around this site…..
anurag kashyap is a darling here……..
and the movie is super hit in passionofcinema.com…if nowhere else….
c’mon guys admit it the story was interpreted in such a bad way…
maybe you understood it…but am damn sure my grandma wont understand it in her 7 lives…spare the critics…
btw…
you talented , arrognat fellow…stop pretendin to be ….
if
you were you…
nobody tells me what to do…
…
blah blah….
you wouldnt be bothered by the way ppl givin thumbs up to the movie here…while critcs and JANTA…givin thumbs down elsewhere…
chill mate!!
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Dear Anurag,
Had written you this morning, 27th October. Wondering if you received it. Pls confirm as much. Thank you.
Apart from my effort, it took a third person’s generous aid to help me reach that mail to you. Just want to know that it has.
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Anurag Kashyap, a product of hype or really an intelligent film-maker????
Apart from the Black Friday that he got readymade from the book … the so-called genius has not come up with anything that I can call a winner … his writing in the recent films (TRASH!!!) – Shakalaka Boom! is one of them … Anurag Kashyap jaago … No Smoking was no Requiem for a Dream … audience is confused and is not loving it – PERIOD!!!!!!
pLEASE GET out of this large group of chelas that you have on this site and at your home and office … get out of that darkness of urs …
Take care
JACK
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Madhuriiiii
Idhar sab baba bengali ban gayee hai..
Everyone is providing treatment for NO SMOKING
Mai 2 din mai hi bore gaya..Itna likh diye hai movie ke baare mai..
Calm Blue Ocean… Shant Karna dhari Bheem Shaant..
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Anuraag Kashyaps biggest achievement with No Smoking is that he has made a film that is worse than what Khalid M or for that matter any film maker has made. I appreciate his honesty about not taking resposibility for SHAKALAKABOOMBOOM as the film must definitely have a contribution from SUNIL DARSHAN as it was far more sensible than NO SMOKING. AK has gone to lower depths than Baba’s paatal in the film. FUCKING FRAUD!!!
JA ANURAAG TERA TIME KHATAM HO GAYA HAI !!! TAHNK GOD
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[Admin HG: If you did not like the film, fair enough. But do not act like a numpty, this ain't a zoo!]
and the people in passion for cinema, a new word has been coined for you.
COCKSUCKERS has changed to
ANURAAG KASHYAPS COCK SUCKERS
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why isn’t the admin responding to the use of such bad languag on the site… this should be deleted
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Rs.21,11,001 to quit smokin….(or sumthin like that , ridiculous to even imagine that)…
in Anurag’s fantasy film…with a budget of 15 crore(got that input from sum1’s post above)…
…
…
…
lookin at the budget,producers,music director,lyricist..and all leavin apart the director..it’s a mainstream film…grow up guys…
if it was a KJo movie…budget would be tripled…
to quit smokin…charges would be 41 lakhs…
and even the directo would be proud to say he is from mainstream bollywood!!!!!
…
only diffrence is they make it for the masses and
our man here gives into his ego and makes this one for himself and POC… oh yeah, also the critics…lol:)
…
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Suchita,
The admin will respond by loggin in with different name and take potshot at non existant family members of poster.
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Another interesting review…
http://withoutgivingthemovieaway.com/main/reviews/review-no-smoking/
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:-t
Why do I think the above comments are being made by someone we all know? Someone who is very happy and “gay” about this backlash to NS!!
Abbe lalloo Jack Daniels, The so called chelas on this site never influence anyone how to make movies or on what to make.
Let me tell you one story. Ek time pe there was this guy who was accused of corrupting the mind of youth with his philosophy. He was formally charged and sentenced to death. Uske dost logo requested him to flee and run away! He refused! He executed himself by drinking the hemlock poison given to him…..
That time, woh kuch nahi tha…public chutiya hain na, kuch jaan nahi paayi….hazaroon saal baad, we call him a great philosopher…
I am not comparing Anurag with that great philosopher…All I am saying is, he gave us one great movie….Well you mentioned it was a book…There were many movies based on books, but bringing it alive on celluloid takes talent boss…..
Okay…We might not have understood No Smoking…teekh hain…cool…but ek minute bhi socha ki yeh banda aisa premise chuna ki bhenchod guts hona chahiye to put your career at risk….
Okay Okay…picture acchi nahi lagi…abbe bhadve log, saal mein teen sau chutiye picture release hoti hain…sab acchi lagti hain kya? at least picture different hain…
Tum jaise chutiye logo ko sirf multi million dollar sets, chutiya fight sequences aur feel good music dena chahiye…bas…tum log iske hee kaabil ho….
Sab ke sab aise gir pade ki aage aur koi film maker koi hatke picture banane ke pehle hazaar baar sochega aur darr jayega…aur wohi gaana bajana picture banayega….
Anyway, they say the understanding of the movies reflect the stage any society is in…our Indian society, in spite of the hype of global economic power, is still stuck in the middle class shit mentality where no one has hope. They go to work in the morning, come back home in the night and sit with their fat wives. It’s actually the film makers mistake to make any different pictures for these chutiyas…When this chutiya goes to the movie, he wants dhamaal! he wants jing bang! So just give the same to them!!
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Abhishek Bandekar gives it 4 stars!
http://www.naachgaana.com/2007/10/27/review-of-no-smoking/
“No Smoking surely grabs your attention and doesn
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just that if somebody didnt like this movie..it doesnt mean that they dont appreciate this kind of cinema fuckhead….am sure they would be disgusted at thos 300 flops / year too as much as they are offended by NO SMOKIN…
so Machchar stop fuckin around mate…
and stop tryin to prove that POC exists for some
psychos of cinema….
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Anurag…why all these unnecessary struggles man…
Make a blockbuster next time…albeit ur style….
Make a movie that is hard core commercial but contains ur Stamp of film making….
Commercial movies in India are not only Yashraj style…
Make a genuine blockbuster so that you can make enough money and then make your kind of films…
What i would say is alternate between commercial films and indie movies…. ala Steven Soderbergh….
Thats the thing…I don’t understand…when you can make your life much easier..why are you hell bent on digging your own grave…..
In india, people look for enjoyment in the movie..they come to relax….they don’t want to stress so much thinking about “what the heck is happening in the movie”…
People have fun man making commercial movies (Take your friend Imtiaz Ali’s example…he made a hardcore commercial movie but he made it his own way..thats what i am trying to say)….your should also try to have some of it!!!
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Editor Note (D): Comment Trolled. Contains Personal attack and/or Verbal Abuse
zephyr bird brain: if you don’t like it then simple, you don’t like it and no one is asking you to change your opinion! Just because he blogs here, you assoles have been attacking both PFC and Anurag. I kind of see the hatred being more just because Anurag blogs here and the site has a great community running. What’s this has got to do how a film is made or not made? Bad film…Ok bad film…what it’s gotta do with any site? Read your comments moron:
“from all the buzz around this site
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“Anyway, they say the understanding of the movies reflect the stage any society is in
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If people can turn down Tararumpum inspite of great reviews..
If people can watch movies like Dhamaal inspite of ok reviews.
If Dhoom can get a good review!!
then..
there is a lesson to be learnt here.. make good dependable cinema.. in the end you will have to only answer yourself man..
But I would also add.. make cinema for the common man – after all this is business..
If you can do both – for yourself and for the audience.. one without the other is not of much use..
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ooooooooh.. well, finally got the hidden message..
but still i wont call No Smoking great..
I mean if u hav to come out and explain ue own movie, somethings missing rite?
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“JA ANURAAG TERA TIME KHATAM HO GAYA HAI !!! TAHNK GOD”
hey hello hello cool down dude, or better see a shrink, why r u so thankful ki Anurag ka time khatam ho gaya hai, did he put a gun to ur head, did he blackmail u or something.
Ok No Smoking is a dud, fine, does not mean, that AK ka time Khatam ho gaya hai, sorry, dude, maybe u have to wait to throw that dream champagne party of urs, to celebrate AK’s demise.
AK does not need a prick like u to tell him to go, he is sensible enough to know, So just shut the hell up dude and stop fighting crusades here.
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And the Argument continues
Baba Bengali’s are now providing next level treatment for NO SMOKING
i can see K singing..Jalne mai kya maza hai.. Parwane Jaante hai..
Saala movie dekhne ki jaroorat hi nahi padi.. Sabne puri picture yahi dikha di..
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Johnny Gaddar, read the comment no.108 in this post – http://passionforcinema.com/to-be-howard-roark-you-have-to-first-kill-your-family/
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I just watched the movie, n have only one thing to say to Anurag, “Man, I respect u even more now than ever before.” What a movie! It takes GUTS to even think about actually making this movie.
I am one of those simpletons who’re fed on the staple diet of Bollywood cinema, n don’t know a shit about those foreign names that I hear here, but I can definitely say that aaj tak aisi movie India mein kisi ne nahi banayi. Don’t stop, Anurag. U inspire us!
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i dont know how but i could not feel K’s arrogance. really.
i think it is john abraham. who wasnt able to carry it to me. id like to believe its his mistake, not mine.
and the ‘arrogant K giving in to the system’ part, damn it dint work for me, though im starting to understand now what the film was tryin to say – i would have very well, given a better performance from the lead actor, conveying things better. the actor was not taking me anywhere, the film was. but the actor was supposed to too. its disappointing.
man how much i want to see this film with another actor playing the lead.
im really sorry if this is offending cos i very much respect john for the person he is cos this film wouldnt hav been made without him. but im disappointed, cos this film wudve worked better, conveyed things better, personally enagaged the audience better if a better actor played the role.
seriously.
what a fix
may b john worked for people who smoke. i hope so
sry again, due respect to john. “heartful thanks for doing this with anurag, for having the guts to do something like this”
i cant believe the producers/distributors who went on with the film. i think they have more guts than anurag. they should be applauded first, foremost.
can we know the cost of making the film?
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hello anurag,
I admire your courage in making “no smoking”. I find an uncanny resemblance to Dante’s Purgatorio (subversively) while seeing the movie. I liked the documentary style in Black Friday but thought you missed a bit of the nighmarish darkness while conforming to the stereotypical reality. here it is better although, I think you borrowed heavily from Neil Gaiman in many of the dream sequences.There are certain images i came across in sandman graphic novels. However, contrary to what people say it is not a very tough film at all…you must have seen ritwick ghatak’s “jukti tokko golpo” or bunuel …this film is simply structured in comparison. I also love “tough” films anyway. However, the thing i missed is depth in certain scenes. I know you will look at them later and think of them as overindulgent on your part. The bizarre in indian films are far from being mature…look at the korean films for instance. and i am not changing my opinion even after watching your film.
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@Ratnakar: I did not intend to generalize and I hope you got what I am getting at. This is totally becoming a freak show over here. I did not even “celebrate” this much when Yashraj movies bombed. By the way, give my regards to Bhabhiji :D
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hi anurag i’m very excited after watching the film.it was a great effort u actually managed to break all the barriers of hindi cinema..kudos to u…Another reason is that 2yrs back we hade made a short film Quitter’s Inclusive and i played the main character…u know i actually wanted to tel u the moment the story unfolded..Ours is not delving into psychological aspect but Anurag by coincident the shot taking of 3 scenes is xactly same..not comparing wid ur baby but its a proud feeling…i wld like u to watch our film.i can send it to you…Chiraag
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Great Movie Boss!!!i saw the movie today and my respect for you increased much more…really it takes a lot of guts to make a movie like this in this land of shits…where donkeys like johars and chopras make movies
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and also brainless people like Ratnakar can stay away from this movie
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anurag…mah man….just got back home after watching ure movie and cant go to sleep without posting what i thought of it…damn gud work man…really liked the movie, the concept, the treatment…second half was a little long but other than that, everything was gud…loved the background score and rajiv ravi’s camera work was edgy and captivating…been a long time since ive seen an Indian movie where i didnt know what the hell would happen next and No Smokin had that effect on me…John was gud (way better than the other so-called talented Bollywood actors)…so was the rest of the cast and THANK YOU FOR GIVING PARESH RAWAL A ROLE WORTHY OF HIS TALENT……
The criticism you are gettin kinda reminds me of what was happening when Fight Club was released and me thinks its got more to do with people not being tuned to these kinds of movies over here…
And dude…dont ever change man…please,please keep makin these movies that blow our minds out no matter what anybody says cause we badly need some fresh stuff in our movies…..
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Since I am in the UK, I am also keeping a track of what the reviewers has to say here and here is a glimpse of that:-
http://film.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/Critic_Review/Guardian_review/0,,2199141,00.html
Some encouraging points which the reviewer mentions:-
1)It could be the beginning of a trend,
2)If and when Bollywood does deliver a crossover hit, it’s likely this film-maker will be behind it.
To read more go to the link mentioned above………..
The movie is already beginning to find it’s audience…………..
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Hi,
My apologies for posting the same comment on multiple posts,happened because both the windows were opened at the same time and due to absence of mind happened to post it twice………
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I just read Ratnakar’s article and posted what i felt…but then goign through the comments i find many more of them like A.P….Well I again repeat for Mindless IDIOTS like you ‘No Smoking’ kinda film is not the right choice…just wait and watch OSO or in that case Sawaariya i think they will suit your sensibility…and Mr (or Mrs) shirinn i also support Anurag Kashyap’s kind of cinema but i beg to differ in one of your comments regarding Aamir Khan…evenif he does Faana I also think he is one of the few who makes Indian cinema proud with every different kind of films that have more than commercial appeals..
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face it anurag. you have slipped. so stop whining and trying to justify a bad film with those pathetic “I’m too great for the rest of India” vibes. after two commendable films, Paanch and Black Friday, you have made a film that nobody — repeat nobody will understand, appreciate, or bother to understand or appreciate. at the end of the day, if your film finds no audience whatsoever, why bother making films? make home videos that you can sit and watch in your living room — all alone. you have mentioned being arrogant as if it is some virtue — know this, it is not. and going by your (assumed) intelligence, i think you already know as much — you are only trying to hide an awful truth that you yourself know very well, in the sheen of arrogance — the truth that you tried to do something very different with No Smoking and failed miserably. if you call this good cinema, either you are lying (i hope you are) or else, blinded by your own arrogance, you have lost it like one ram gopal varma(i seriously hope you havent). about the critics you mentioned, no one gives a rat’s ass about khalid mohamed anymore, so dont bother. rajeev masand knows how to show the carrot and shove the stick smartly at the same time, just like HT Delhi’s ex critic vinayak chakraborty (who, i dont know, for some same reason has stopped reviewing films these days)– you probably missed the sarcasm in rajiv’s “anger”. taran adarsh has a logic in his point of view and i think you should respect it — he truly represents the masses (i know, i know — you are too high brow to make films for the masses). I will say this — watching No Smoking i realised the awful truth — your film wont be rejected by the discerning audience because its a “different” film. it will be rejected because it is a bad art film.
PS: this is just my honest opinion. nothing personal. thought i should write because i really liked your first two. all the best.
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AB,
Although it will probably take you a while to distance yourself enough from NO SMOKING to be able to re-read these reviews, sort through the personal vendetta, and find the critique in them; they aren’t all wrong.
You are writing to be read, speaking to be heard, to some extent at the end of the day. I do believe there is a way of making movies that is both completely honest, absolutely uncompromising, and STILL accessible to the audience. If the technique does only one of these things, we need to keep searching for a better technique.
My two cents.
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Dear Anurag,
I loved “Black Friday” and I am gonna watch “No Smoking”….But having read all the comments about your latest work,(esp by those desis, drunk on K.F, blokes in U.S.A),dont you think it could have been marketed to the right kinda audience? I think still there’s ample time left to reposition the movie.I loved “Aks”,must have watched it 5- times,it was way ahead of it’s time…but after reading N.S’s reviews,I think our aam janta and critics are still cocooned in a juvenile time-wrap.
All the best.
p.s: I smoke Classic Menthol
pps: position your movies,a la Q.Tarantino,as neo-noirs and the French are the biggest audience for such kinda niche movies irrespective of which language it is in.
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well , i for one i have yet to see the movie and i have read the review by khalid m ,and it clearly seems that it is targeted towrads Anurag and not the movie , i wonder why :-??
but for a man who has made a movie of “BLACK FRIDAY” , stature HAS to have some talent and thats the precise reason why i will watch the movie.
The audience watches movies because they like it and not because critics like it or hate it, simple as that.
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Indiafm has published excerpts from this article:
http://www.indiafm.com/features/2007/10/27/3187/index.html
I think its unfair to publish part of the article verbatim without providing a link back to the original article at PFC. I am not so sure about the exact terms of creative commons license but it may violate the license terms too. Even if it is legally OK it is a common courtesy to give readers access to the original (complete) article and subsequent comments.
This is not the first time it happened and Oz you must look into that.
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So much angst and so much love. So much passion and So much cinema.
How can you not, but feel personal. Right?
To hell with every critic.
You made a movie, Anurag…thats what counts, you made something you will stand by…thats what counts…
if it hasnt worked for most…doesn’t matter…as long as you look in the mirror, and it says to you…you and your movie stood for something…
I just cant wait to see “No Smoking” myself.
The New Wave Cometh?!
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anurag,
just make a quick call to RGV…he’ll give you some good tips to deal with these moron critics…afterall like in your case, they too attacked RGV personally in their reviews of AAG and forgot to review the film…they think that like RGV you too have lost it…according to them both of you are arrogant and self-indulgent…a lot of common things have been said by these critics about you and RGV…but to hell with these critics…no matter what these critics have to say, you and RGV will always keep making what you guys want to make…and that’s one common thing i like about you guys! period!
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Anurag,
Being arrogant is fine and so is making an arrogant film. You are talented and you work hard. These are facts we know and admire. However, there’s more.
You’ve made enemies around you which is not healthy but which upholds your spirits. You’ve made a lot of fans and supporters who’d stand by you come what may. You need them, perhaps. Yet, all these are people with farily fixed opinions and hence, are totally useless.
It’s your work that should speak for you and not the other way around. When you sledge either as a tactic or act smart after you’ve had success, it’s fine. But you seem to be living in defiance. Your arrogance should be your strength and not your weakness which is what it has turned out to be. The only point to remember is that – “No Art can flourish in Defiance.” Yours is suffering badly. And if anything, your attitude needs a total overhaul.
Hope you take it in the right spirit. Hardly anyone would be as happy as me to see the KJs and SRKs going down the drain. But I don’t want to replace Agarkar with Munaf Patel. Give me a worthy replacement. Give me a Wasim Akram!
– Akshaya
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There’s many a slip between cup and lip.
It’s a curious film. After the dust settles, and 7 years down the line when you have made more films, this film will stand out as a curio in your ouevre.
Several people have pointed out that your film is indulgent. Let me guesstimate. The first problem is that you wrote and directed the film! You are an exceptional writer and a good stylist capable of getting decent if not good performances. All talent needs restriction, to truly produce good work.
The director in you did not demand focus from the writer (what does the Baba want? What’s his vision of the world?), the writer didn’t have the conviction to fight the director and your producer was too much in awe of your knowledge of cinema and “cinematic genius” tag and your editor probably deferred to you.
You spend the first 30 minutes doing what? Showing that K is arrogant. Jysus, not only did you have a slomo shot of K admiring himself and smoke swirling about, you have him state, “nobAWdy tells me what to do” and yet you spend the next 25 mins showing he is a dick and arrogant. We get the picture. What could have ben accomplished in one scene, takes 30 minutes.
The internal logic of the film “seems” muddled because you have not been able to articulate several things. It seems like you are playing obscurity and absurdity for depth. When in doubt, stick to Occum’s Razor.
There are superflous scenes and characters. In what should have been a tight and gripping scene thrusting K into further paranoia and perhaps even dementia, when he smokes at the interrogation room to prove his innocence, you squander the opportunity by an ill-informed surreal segue into the cartoonish death of his brother. This scene in my mind captures the basic flaw in the movie. An editor that is not afraid of you or a Producer that can whipcrack ur ass, would have cut that shite.
The eunuch tossing money and his arrogance at not having basic kindness etc etc is all well but i think you were trying to say that he had an opportunity to save his soul, by taking the change from the eunuch and his soul could have later made the telephone call using that. An insert of the coins in his car would have been useful. In the absence of that, it stands out as a pointless scene.
Your dialogues feel too clever, calling attention to themselves. I can see the writer which is always a bad thing. The thought bubbles feel too gimmicky without too much wit about them.
I will give you style points and you should attempt to make a good horror film or thriller. There are some very well executed scenes like the Lab, finger chopping and the slo-mo shot of John driving with the reflection of trees on his windshield before the crash and the ringing sound (used very well in Black Friday and here again) and the aatmas disappearing in smoke in the end.
I wish I had been there when you pitched this movie to the people that opened their purse strings because this has got to be one of the best pitches that got a movie greenlit, coming second only to Jackson’s that won him $300MM for Rings and Zack Snyder’s 300. It’s a different thing that Lord saved a studio that was going bankrupt and all the execs behind 300 made enough money to do coke off a Natasha’s ass for the rest of their merry green lives.
You have no room to complain about anything as you had a fat cow to milk and I hope no one is eating beef biriyani any time soon. I feel bad because 15 crores is a lot of money in India and I don’t think this will make it back. I hope it doesn’t stop Mangat from backing future films that are not vanity projects masquerading as intelligent cinema.
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With Due respect to You Writing Skills you still have long way to go as Director….Black Friday was Very Good Movie….But lately you seem to wasting lot of time criticing other like Yasjraj films, Karan Johar…Come one man focus your energy on being Great director not critic !!! For starters U have 2 solid examples in Bollywood Super Star Aamir Khan & Most Underated & Talented Director Nagesh Maknoor who continue to create Great quality work without trying ridicule Bollywood system which they are part of !!!!
Good Luck
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The lingering doubt about this movie is whether it is expressing anything meaningful, an alternate perspective, the absurdity of an individual life in a society ..or something about the nature of reality itself.
The movie doesn
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i remember the time when u had come to delhi for the scriptwriting workshop…i was present too….during the session,u had mentioned about what people’s reaction would be after they see the film “no smokin”….
n this is what u said….”what was this? it’s crazy…kashyap has made a crazy film”….n guess wat,it’s true…it was bloody crazy…n i was enjoying myself watchin the film…
i’ve understood pretty much what the movie was about…but i think i missed somethin…n i want to see it again…the reason tht i missed it is bcos- mistakenly i accompanied by a friend for the film…n he was quiet a pest….when the interval came,he went on criticising,n i wanted to see the rest of the film in peace…so i told him to take the exit n criticise aloud…shameless as he was,he didn’t….so i had to miss quiet a lot which made it difficult for me to understand…
i can’t comment right now on the film..i might have to see it again….but i like the idea of your story…paresh rawal was really good n i love the song “kash laga”…
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@Macchar: Na, its fine, i understand things happen at times.
@Arnab: Dude, can u seriously tell me why u felt my post was brainless. I did not comment anything about the movie, as i have not even see it, and I was defending AK against personal attacks. I was just asking Macchar to generalize the middle class, and he himself was fine with it. Did u read my post properly? I never attacked the movie, because i have not even seen it in first place, to give my views on it.
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@ Arnab
“I just read Ratnakar
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@Ratnakar…Cool buddy…and I suggest you try to ignore these arnab characters ;)
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i saw it 1st day 1st show.but boss its really is difficult to figure what was happening out there.although, design was really good ,so was the music.john and paresh did good but aayesha was disappointing.
i will wait for your next movie to come out.
you are a geneous.and one day all will accept it
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So it’s official…a series of loosely connected metaphors that stimulate one guy(and of course,his eloquent online fanboys) is now classified as a “movie”. What’s more,throw in a few obscure references to cult classics and a Voila! You have the “New wave” of Intelligent,Abstract,Thought-Provoking Cinema. Genius,even.
I,for one, would prefer to be mentally retarded (which I am, since this was the first Hindi movie I chose to watch in this decade) than piece together a jigsaw puzzle of someone’s brain(hmmm…or is it atma) splattered on the graffitti wall. And for 150 bucks, no less.
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Picture this – for eg : David Lynch’s ERASERHEAD is regarded as a cult/masterpiece movie by one and all. The movie is more abstract , bizaare and surreal than No Smoking . It takes a lot of time to understand what is going around in the movie and u are bound to be confused. But this movie was considered as a great film, so what if it was confusing and highly abstract. So tell me, if suppose by some stroke of Misfortune , Eraserhead does get played in front of the banal and “wht is international cinema standards?” critics of India. What wud be their reaction ????
You know …. 101 % they would come up with the same fantastic ripping/panning desi/clueless vocabulary that they used to review NO SMOKING ….. they will end saying…. ” oh my God , if their was one movie which is number 1 in my hate movie list, it will be Eraserhead….” and then ” Wht was David bhaiyya(read banal/clueless/ignorant) thinking wen he made this film and why did he make such a aweful movie . bcoz i cannot undestand a thing and nor wud the average moviegoer who wants paisa wasool movies” ….
Anurag Bhai….its clear that critics are unable to digest No Smoking …!!! This has to be the most innovative cinema coming from India… infact…. its not indian cinema…its International cinema meant for ppl who are have grown up or atleast have the experience of watching simialr flicks from Lycnh , Darren Aronosky , Chris Nolan and Lars von Trier….
Yes…. this is your attempt to change the viewing preference of the indian cine public..which i wish could happen( but will not in some yrs atleast….coz india is not in europe …sad)…
I have an idea…. gather all the critics , make a reforming center called as ChitraNirmaaan Shaala and over there show them all the european/american movies(am sure they wudnt have heard abt any). After watching the movies, ask them to review No Smoking again or say some other future movies of similar abstact/surreal nature. If if If….. if they still dont get tht type of cinema in their heads and fail to understand them….. then …. they surely lose their Ears (not hearing) , Hands (not fingers)..and atlast ….their clueless Brains and not soul..
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naam bade aur darshan chhote!
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Wht do u think abt the above Anurag bhai ??? I admired the movie coz i had prepared myself for such an experience….in the same way..wen i knew wht to expect from a lynch film !!!…..
To change the viewing preference of the indian audience !! do u think it can happen ??
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Hey Mr. Kashyap, Juz watched ur movie…. I’m so spellbound that ur movie actually made me think abt quitting smoking…
Never expected something influential as this is Hindi…
Kudos…
Keep up the good work….
…’B'…
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“It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.”
“Citizenship in a Republic,”
Theodore roosevelt
“…the man who really counts in the world is the doer, not the mere critic-the man who actually does the work, even if roughly and imperfectly, not the man who only talks or writes about how it ought to be done.” (1891)
“Criticism is necessary and useful; it is often indispensable; but it can never take the place of action, or be even a poor substitute for it. The function of the mere critic is of very subordinate usefulness. It is the doer of deeds who actually counts in the battle for life, and not the man who looks on and says how the fight ought to be fought, without himself sharing the stress and the danger.”
FANTASTIC EFFORT AND…
MIND NUMBING EXPERIENCE
Take a break with your family…then write your next….K.. ur time has come.
:-)
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Since every one’s busy reviewing/dissecting/analysing No Smoking, let me do my bit. Anurag, I can liken ur effort to Misbah Ul Haq’s performance in T 20 finals. It was going all too fine. He built that innings with courage n determination but gave it up up with one suicidal, over-confident and arrogant shot. Same goes for ur movie. I loved the first half so much so that I was calling up my friends in the interval to say what a fucking awesome movie it is. But in the second half, u went overboard. How I wish, u just kept it a little simpler and safer in the second half to suit the audience’ sensibilities, psyche and taste.
But I would still say I admire u for the guts, n also it’s the most genuine ‘hat ke’ film I’ve ever seen in Bollywood. Kudos!!!
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@anurag…
saw the film yesterday… made me feel really weird when i left the cinema hall(i think that makes you successful in what you wanted to do) … the movie never at any point seemed to suck except for the first part which seemed to be a little ‘fragmented’, but all came togather in the end…. the movie ’sucked me in’ after the interval…
after reading this article of yours i make out the movie to be a totally different one… it seems to make sense in a totally different way which is impossible for any critic habituated to ‘criticising’ yash raj and karan joker movies to see….
great movie!!!! bravo!!!
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Hey Anurag,
I dont know what to write to you, because its nothing I can tell you that will please you or make you feel any better or worse. But I have a small lil poem for you that my elder brother once wrote, its called Manthan…
????
?? ??? ???? ?? ?? ?? ??? ?? ????
??? ?? ????? ?? ??? ?????? ??? ???
?? ??? ???? ???? ?? ?????? ??? ????
?? ????? ?? ???? ???? ??? ??? ?????
???? ?? ?????? ?? ???? ??????
????? ??? ???? ???? ??? ??????
?? ??? ??? ?? ???? ????? ??
???? ??? ?????? ?? ????? ??????
i feel at times that its written for me, today i guess its written for you. And yes, my brother’s name is also Anurag.
we will surely meet some day…
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hey anurag
i might b in the minority….but i absolutely loved the movie
main toh movie ka free mein publicity de raha hoon…..i’ve made a few of my frnds xcited for watchin the movie
i cudn’t absorb everythin entirely in 1 viewing..
but i cudn’t believe it wen i saw a HINDI MOVIE being so abstract….i guess its a first
hopefully, the movie can recover its costs
btw, anurag don’t mind me askin, how much the budget of ur movie?
wat i luv abt an arty movie like this is tht whoever cared to watch the movie wholly had their own interpretation of wht was shown on screen….THTS WAT I CALL A MASTERPICE MAN!!!!
neway i din get the movie wholly….lookin forward to readin the script…nd i wanna the vision of the maker!! so i can understand everythin tht i saw
absolutely loved the subtle humour tht was running parallely with the movie
m waitin for the dvd to come out…nd i want ur autograph on it
anurag, M A FAN!
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Your film was different. But by virtue of being different, it does not become good. And while you have every right to make the kind of films you want to, you need to have the common sense to discern whether you should screen it at a cinema hall or at your home theatre. If you wanted to prove your intelligence, you should know the first step lies in deciding the target audience. When you realise this movie in the manner you have, and let people slot in the commercial bracket pre-release, you deserve all the shit you’re getting. To make a couple of films, which struggle to see the daylight does not elevate you to a position from where you can call seasoned critics and the audience four lettered words. We are all reay to contribute towards the fee for a course in film-making for you.
P.S: Don’t be a sore loser and actually bother replying.
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Saw ‘No Smoking’ today.
Twice!
Loved it!
Anurag has made a very unique film.
It works on many levels and is intriguing to watch.
I really wish critics would admit that a film is too clever for them, before they start to rip a film to shreds!
The reviews were NOT justified at all!
I really want to see more of this kinda cinema!
The audience were sayin negative stuff bout the film, but i made a point of talking very LOUDLY ON MY FONE to a friend, and praised the film to the skies!
Critics can go fuck themselves!
Yes, the film is bizarre.
Yes its gonna confuse u if u DONT PAY ATTENTION!
But boy, its gonna entertain u too, in its own individualistic way.
A brave attempt, and I
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This is to Mr Anurag Kashyap.I became a fan of yours after seeing Yuva and Black Friday.In fact i firmly believe that Black Friday is one of the finest Indian movies ever made,so i was eagerly waiting for NO SMOKING.After watching the movie i m utterly confused,and i m not in a position to review it. The part of the nightmare coming again made some sort of sense(the Siberain scenes).In an interview before u hadtold that the movie will remain in the audience’s mind even after they leave the cinema,weirdly that is also true.I m a student of cinema;so from a student point of view i thought for a while about the movie and couldnt make out how much of the movie was real and how much was surreal.Did you put it deliberately in that way??so that the viewers muse over it??Or was the idea something else?
The one rupee thing was brilliant(most people buy cigarettes for RS 1,if my idea is right).Please try to answer my queries.I m very curious!!!And i came out of the hall laughing very hard even while walking to the bus stop and in the bus.I saw a few heads turn to look at me.I became a little mad.Was that your intention too??
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I came to your blog for the first time especially to write my opinion about “No Smoking”.
I went to movie before I could read any reviews which is a practice I follow to avoid nonsense movies. So the comments I am making right now can be considered unbiased.
The first half was terrific. It was gripping and beyond my imagination. Each scene, sequence was unthinkable and unknown and that’s what I like about a movie. This was a different and unknown world and I had to throw all prejudices whatsoevr to understand the concept of the movie. As I said, the experience was exhilariting and everybody in the cinema-hall seemed to be shell-shocked. However I was so impressed with whatever I was watching, that as soon as I came out in the interval, I called up my friend who is also a movie freak and told him that finally we have got a movie in the Indian cinema which is going to change all the predefined moulds. I asked him to watch this movie the very next day.
As I expected a lot better next half and went with a lot more curiosity, for some time I endured the sequences but after a period of time, I begin to feel what the hell it is…And there were many reasons:
1. I and similar to me others got very confused with the entire sequence of second half. I had no idea how K reached Ajarbaijaan. If in the end, it was about “aatma”, how come people like K were able to see them? What’s all that confusion about her dead wife and secretary and their so-called role-playing sequence? I also could not understand the significance of shower sequence.
2. The movie was too long. The kind of genre and type of movie it was, I felt exhausted long before movie ended. Some people left in between which is very rare for a movie I saw ever. In the end too, people couldn’t wait movie to end and started leaving thinking it has ended. Bipasha Basu song was simply wasted. Very few people were there in theater to watch that song and even then it looked completely wasted. In my view you should have edited the movie for at least 20-25 minutes and it should have been 1-1/2 hour movie max. I like the way RGV made Nishabd. Crisp, concise and with no-frills.
3. Too many songs. In a movie like this, songs seem to be like dampener. One or two thematic songs could be enough but more than that was just dragging the movie.
You might be having abundance of ideas but it’s not necessary to put them all in a movie. You need to understand the mind of a movie-goer also. Human mind can take one thing at a time. Also it gets exhausted after a period of time. So, unrelated sequences, too many ideas may not make a great movie. It’s necessary to understand the dynamics of crisp and concise words. Simple things work. This is a rule. Even for a subject as bizarre as NS, things would have worked, if you could avoid that much of confusion from the audience.
In my view, our viewers cannot become thinking audience in a night. The attempt was as harsh to Indian audience as it was for K in the movie. In foreign movies, I have seen that some of thinking part is never explained. You need to understand that. To that I would say, the second part was even an overdose for such an audience and Indian audience haven’t experience such a thing before.
Even after saying so many negative things, I would like acknowledge that this is a landmark attempt for Indian cinema. Though I felt exhausted after watching the movie, I felt good to be part of such an attempt. It’s just that I would have felt happier to watch a landmark movie which it could not because of above mentioned reasons.
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HI ANURAG !!!!
1ST OF ALL CONGRATS THAT THESE F**KERS ALLOWED U TO RELEASE YOUR FILM WITHOUT ANY PROBS….MAN THATS ONE UP FOR YOU…I HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING YOUR STRUGGLE AGAINST THESE PSEUDO F***S WHO NEVER LET TRUTH TO BE TOLD AS IT EXISTS…MAN HATS OFF TO YOU N DAT…ME BEIN AN ACTOR MYSELF AND ALSO MAYB COZ IM ALSO BEIN SUBJECTED TO IT IN A DIFRNT WAY…I CAN EASILY UNDERSTAND WHERE THAT ANGER IN U COMES OUT WHICH THOSE F***S CALL ARROGANCE…HERE I RECOLLECT THE FAMOUS LINE FROM SCARFACE WHEN AL PACINO SAYS” ALL I HAVE IS MY BALLS….” U SUIT THAT LINE TO THE T… NOW FOR THE FILM …I WENT THERE WITH LOADS OF EXPECTATIONS AND WHY NOT…I EXPECTED SUMTHING DIFFERENT AND DARK..AND DATS WHT I GOT… I LOVED THE WHOLE ENVIRONMENT U PLACED THE FILM IN ..I MEAN THE DIFFERENT SHADES U GAVE …OH YA ND I DID READ THE REVIEWS TOO, I KNW THEY WERE NOT WHT U WOULD HAV EXPECTED BUT WHT ELSE CAN U EXPECT FROM THOSE JERKS…CHILL MAN ..U R BEIN HONEST TO YOUR THOUGHTS AND I GUESS THATS WHT MATTERS IN THE END…ITS NOT ALWAYS ABT TELLING A STORY ITS ABT TELLING THE TRUTH…DATS WHT I BELVE IN…FOR ME I UNDERSTND UR KINDA CINEMA AND WOULD LUV TO B A PART OF IT …INSHALLAH…LUKING FORWARD FOR MEETIN UP WITYA…TAKE CARE AND KEEP CHURNIN OUT THOSE BELTERS….
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So anyone who doesn’t like/get this film is a 4 (or more) letter word?! :-?
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Anyway, here’s someone who seems to have liked and got it…
http://www.mid-day.com/hitlist/2007/october/166143.htm
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Anuraag
I am not sure if you have heard about this telugu film journilist who is know for her bold reporting.
This morning i came across her posting which is infact a threating letter from one of her readers.
The reason i am posting this is because, whenever something like this happens in blogosphere here in united states, there comes tremendous support from fellow bloggers.
Could we expect that here in india ?
http://sunitablogs.com/?p=2144
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Hey Anurag,
I can say a lot about the movie but I’m probably going to write a long feature on it on my blog, which I’ll link to, in awhile.
Until then, all I can say is that I loved it. It was exactly what I expected it to be – somehow, reading about the movie, reading your posts, seeing the trailers, I expected something like this … I try not to have too many expectations from movies because I usually end up being disappointed, but recently, I have expected a lot from both Johnny Gaddar and No Smoking, and haven’t been disappointed on both occasions.
Most people I know have hated the film – a majority of them haven’t understood it, and yes, I find it a little funny when people keep talking about how the film is about the hazards of smoking. Love the layers to the film – my analysis of which would be different from someone else’s, that’s the lovely bit about interpretation and perspective, isn’t it? And yes, knowing a lot of film reviewers personally (my dad is a film journo), I admire your guts to make this movie. Also, a kudos to John who I considered expressionless, until I saw No Smoking … another kudos to him for doing this movie, in spite of the obvious reactions this movie was going to generate amongst the masses and critics.
I loved it, and yes, am seeing it again tomorrow because there are a number of sequences I wish to see again …
More later.
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Hey!
First, no smoking’s easily the best movie of the year. Mr masand lost it a long time back. And after reading this, i just remembered a Ghalib quote. Kindof suits this really well. It goes:
Woh humse poochhte hain ghalib kaun hai?
ab tum batlao ki hum batlayein kya.
thanks for a movie like this!
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Reviewers like Taran and Khalid are biased by their own idea of what a good movie should be. Directors are equally biased by their own idea of what a good movie should be. Difference, though, in this case seems to be that Taran doesn’t feel the need to justify his biases or his “poor reviews”. He has a take it or leave it attitude. You, on the other hand, go licking your wounds on your high horse and claim that anyone who doesn’t understand your movie lacks vital portions of their brain. Are the critics obligated to like your movie? Or, are the audiences? And if they don’t, perhaps it says something about YOUR product rather than their taste?
If piecing together random bits of abstraction is your style, then so be it, it’s entirely your choice. By some of the comments here, it even seems like you have your own cult following, whether or not they really “understood the point” of your movie. You should have known that movies like these, in any part of the world, would cater to a select audience. There’s a reason why movies are in the entertainment section — it’s there to entertain. You do have the liberty to make the movies you want, which you have. What you seem to be demanding is the liberty of the people to like the movie. If you expected audiences and critics to gush about your movie when it’s not even made with their sensibilities in mind, then perhaps you deserve the flak you’re getting. Grow a thick skin and stop whining.
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I have seen cat’s eye, it is a very wierd film but written by stephen king one would not have expected any different. When i first saw promos of no smoking i really felt it was a lift from there. Haven’t been able to see AK’s no smoking as yet…but am curious after reading the reviews and his comments.
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Oh, btw, i went to watch it with three of my friends and all of us are still awestruck. It won’t do badly in Calcutta. i assure you.
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And the Argument still continues
Baba Bengali’s still providing treatment for NO SMOKING
K from singing — Jalne mai kya maza hai.. parwane jaante hai is now singing Chadti Jawani meri Chaal mastani.. Tu kadr na Jaani Rama..
I know now why some ppl feel abt PFC the way they do
Look at all the recent topic
————————————————-
No Smoking : The Hanzo sword which cut through
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Extream secularism is as harmful as terrorism, I can see there are two kind of people living in PFC, the ones who liked Anurag Kashyap and the other who dont like No Smoking. u like it or dont but No Smoking for me is a milestone movie, not because it is made by Anurag Kashyap (Who I think was at his best in Satya) but because the No Smoking concept is made, how many of us actually thought that a movie like No Smoking can be made, I haven’t seen the movie, but from thousands of people who saw it and gave their reactions here suggests that No Smoking may be a flop movie, but here is a catch, I think Anurag never promised anybody a HIT movie (yashraj camps does so), he said this movie will be different, if u wanted to see a HIT movie why did u chose it, Jab We Met was very peredictably hit, and No Smoking VERY VERY PREDICTABLY a different movie. reactions suggests that the movie has no ends to meet, but I never expected it to be a easy-to-understand movie. I wanna watch No Smoking because
1. As promised it is DIFFERENT
2. It has atlease some concept (which I’ve not seen very often in Bollywood)
3. It is critisised alot and I wanna see who is more inttelegent people or Anurag
4. It is bound to have great effects (both camera and script)
5. Its a renaissance time for Bollywood (who thought Johnny Gaddar, Dil Dosti Etc. kind of movie will be made) and I wanna be a part of this great Bollywood renaissance.
you people have your own views and I respect them but I also respect my views, I also respect a brain who actually thinks ahead of many-many film makers (read ghais, chopras and johars). I am sure few of the people who are shouting from the top that No Smoking is a Ghatiya movie are those who actually went and see Neil and Nikki and Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna, please people dont be unfair to anybody dont compare films at least not No Smoking because as Anurag said it will be entirely different movie and it is… keep going Anurag till you become Leonardo Da Vinci of Bollywood.
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I have no idea about people talking about watching No smoking alone in theatre. I am in bangalore and just back froma show and hall was packed. Most of the people were enjoying from what i could make out from their laughter and cheering. I pretty much enjoyed the movie, though the end was as convulated as those smoke rings, i enjoyed it too. It reminded of some episodes of Aeon Flux. Absurd at best , I guess we havent yet learnt to enjoy it.
i really loved the jazz show in the pub. keep it up anurag. will wait for ur gulal..
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btw i read somewhere soemthing about john being wooden is this film .. i can just help laughing..i cringed at his trying to be funny in garam masala and perhaps others. i dont think he got in any way of K. he was very much believable here..
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Well Ratnakar I have no personal grudge against you..actually may be i read between the lines in your comment with full anger seeing some people abusing the movie without understanding a bit of it…actually i am frustated wioth the films made in India and the films that works..and anurag kashyap’s film is diametrically opposite to the standards of Indian cinema and i personally felt No smoking falls in the generation of Noire film making thats very new in india…This kind of films can elevate Indian film level in the world platform so I wished more people to encourage and watch this movie…thereby I got irrated with the bunch of fools who are grown watching mindless escapist films from chaopras and Johars…(well I do agree with one of the people above who told Anurag to cut short of his comments on Bollywood and focus more like nagesh Kukunoor and Aamir Khan…)Well its difficult to be outsider to change the system… sounds cliche but the fact is that we have to be in the system to change the system…and Anurag kashyap can definately be one of the torchbearers in the cold revolt against the lots of mindless film makers
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ANURAG TUM SANGHARSH KARO, HUM TUMHARE SAATH HAIN…:d
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I also noticed what SG said – “…Most of the people were enjoying from what i could make out from their laughter and cheering…”. I tried to understand what is the reason behind cheering & laughter, and after sometime i realized people are following that very old saying to help themselves- “Laughter is best medicine”. People were really quite when second half started, but with time they started to laugh and clap to relieve their stressed mind. BTW I heard many sighs and “Thank God” when people saw end credits, i hope others would agree with me.
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@Alone…why dont u take a break from PFC. some hundred other posts on no smoking is in draft as well. all coming soon. its our film. so, u hav a choice!!
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Thanks for the suggestion..Mr OWNER of PFC ..but unfortunately i cant..
I need to take a holiday in real life too but i cant afford too..I need to take a break from cig too but iam not able too.. :P
Its OK to call NO SMOKING OUR FILM..Just a question jab koi bolta hai no smoking is a pfc film, mirchi kyon lagti hai..
By the way, Next time you comment do read all my other post too to understand the rational..
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Baba Bengali now talking abt the GOOD EFFECTS OF NO SMOKING..
K now singing : Bhejeki sunega to marega Kallu.
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@Phoenixnu, What this Alone character actually meant by “Thanks for the suggestion..Mr OWNER of PFC ..but unfortunately i cant..” is “PFC tera baap ka hain kya mujhe idhar sey break lene ke liye advise de raha hain?”!!
Alone, What he meant was take a holiday from the Internet. You are getting some brilliant film making ideas and you desperately need a holiday to take it further. Switch off your computer and think that you are on a holiday, just as we think that we are watching your movie.
Editor note (OM): Machchar, please restrain from getting personal here
But one warning, you can think about anything as much as you want, but if you have a wife or a girl friend, please don’t “think” about making love to them or someone will actually make a real movie while you make “blank” movies…Tell me your address, maybe I can try my hand at directing
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@Machchar…cudnt agree more. sahi re sahi.ab aur kya kahein…janam samjha karo! ab har kisi ko main kahan samjha sakton hoon.
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Well, if you guys are confused about the “thinking” business, I suggest you read these comments to give you the big picture and also understand and know about the genius “Alone” who is in midst of us.
http://passionforcinema.com/no-smoking-calling-all-film-lovers-pfcs-shortest-post/#comment-49119
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Macchar,
I dont blame you.. i blame your inability to understand sarcasm ..
Fortunately for you, i dont believe in making personal comments.. Yea iam still following the no personal attack policy.. guess though thats not applicable to u.
But Baa Bol Bacchan dena bhi hai to dhang ke to de.. ye kya uth patang bak raha hai.
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It is one of those films,that needs second third viewing to understand the nitty gritty of the film. This film will be part of curicullum in film schools in days to come.DVD of this film will generate revenue for the producers.
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It is one of those films,that needs second third viewing to understand the nitty gritty of the film. This film will be part of curicullum in film schools in days to come.DVD of this film will generate revenue for the producers.
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Machchar LOL
I guess u really felt bad that you started posting comment using my name ( comment #208)
Get well soon Mammu
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dear anurag,
just saw your NO SMOKING. Its quite different, very different
from what we are used to. Great effort and great guts to make a
movie like this.
Now few are saying that they were unable to understand it well
may be they have become very used to usual stuff. And yes few of
the critics are not judging your movie but trying to judge on a
personal note.
Now a great / good movie is made up of small – small sequences
that can make you cry, make you laugh, can touch your heart and
surprise you. NO SMOKING lacks a lot on this front. The basic
idea is very different at the script level but i think screenplay
needs a lot of correction.
You opted for a more baba who believed in more or less violent
tricks / ways to improve the K. I think if you had reversed his
approach i.e. the K (John Abraham) is in a mess / difficult
situation but it should be humorous one for the audience. Its
like he is getting punished but the audience actually enjoys
that. In that way the audience would have connected more with the
baba (Paresh Rawal) and his approach believing that he is doing
right for K.
Now what is happening is that audience is not connecting with the
subject because the kind of punishment that baba gives to K for
smoking are not going down well with audience and they are ending
up sympathising with K that utlimately defeats the purpose of
your film i.e. to make people quite smoking.
Dear anurag a lot of expectations are on you, anurag you
represent a young generation of film makers who are trying to
make a name for themselves. If your films don’t do well a lot of
people get chance to take a shot at you and in the long run would
also affect the chances of other aspiring film makers to some
extent. I request you to make your movies keeping in mind that
along with being different we have to generate money and people
should actually come and enjoy it. If you really want to answer
the big guns then answere them by beating them in their own game.
I understand when you believe that you have the potential and
people around you doesn’t think same then frustation levels can
really rise. I have gone through it and iam still going through
it. Remember i requested you to give me a opportunity to design
your publicity campaign for your next project. But my dream is to
become a director, and i feel my anguish and desire in you. I
request you to calm down and just focus on your work.
Couple of more low films and things can be really difficult.
Please concentrate on screenplay more for your next project on
devdas. I wish you all the best and waiting for your big success.
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Hello Mr.Anurag Kashyap,
I like watching unconventional films, like those of Ramu’s. I am a great fan of Satya (that you wrote). I also liked ur Black Friday and I actually felt the India Cinema is changing slowly. I was very much looking forward to your movie No Smoking. When I read the reviews that the film is not good, I thought this reaction is common, as would be the case with most unconventional films in Bollywood! So, I still wanted to watch your movie. Today I watched it and I tried my best to concentrate and make the meaning out of it. But I failed miserably. I am not saying the movie is not good, but I really want to know the logic behind it. Would you be so kind to email me the logic behind the puzzle as it would kill my sleep if I do not get it?
Lastly, I want to say that I am still looking forward to your next movie, but this time please consider our Indian audience to be “not-so-intelligent-to-understand-my-kind-of-cinema”.
Thank you,
Srinath
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I was getting fried by all the negativity surrounding the film, the director
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http://withoutgivingthemovieaway.com/main/reviews/review-no-smoking/
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hi
anurag.
i really admire your passion and devotion
if that is self indulgence then MR. khalid comments were self indulgence personified.. you lost there.
i never read his crap, atleast khalid should be thankful to you that you made someone to smell that shit.
i think he (mis)directed 1 or 2 pieces if shit himself only to motivate himself to write all that shit before writing any thing he watches them and then writing all this comes easy
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A paradigm shift in story telling,kudos to Anurag for treading the un tread path.
what ever be the fate of this movie, its gonna be discussed
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Hey Anurag
Just watched the movie, reading all the postings from couple of days about how good or bad the movie is….But I would say…KUDOS TO YOU…for making this kind of Movie…you know what Indians are considered to be SMART and when it comes to an intelligent movie…this is what you get??? believe me we are full of Pseudo intellectuals…cos they wont even care to think why K is gng through this, what does Baba bengali represents…cos they are missing the colorful grandeurs or those Swiss Alps…So my reason of posting a comment is you should not get deterred with comments from taran adarsh or rediff or from KM,….and please for god sake dont stop making this kind of a film cos of few stupid wreckless brains…
I think you must have sensed this stir..cos in our so called democratic nation people dont like honest opinion and when you tell them on your face that please make some sensible cinema obviously they will act in a passive agressive way…and you are not new…people like Shayam Benegal, Ritwik Ghatak ( in todays young generation people hardly know him…) they were rock solid inspite of chopras or any other rajesh khanna or Amitabh bacchan movie…so you have a long way to go
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A decent review at:
http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/hindi/review/9415.html
It starts as
“Ram Gopal Varma can heave a sigh of relief. For a change, the focus would shift from him to Anurag Kashyap when it comes to bashing a director for a film made by him/her. At the end of the year, when the award for the most horrendous film of 2007 would be given out, NO SMOKING would certainly win with the biggest of competitors being far-far away. Though RAM GOPAL VARMA KI AAG was leading from the front for many ever since it’s release, NO SMOKING seems unbeatable until and unless a bigger turkey is served before 2007 ends.”
It also says
“Anurag’s intentions were right to begin with. He wanted to make cinema which breaks all norms. Perfectly fine. He wanted to present visuals as never seen before. Again correct. And he very much succeeds too in most part of the film. He wanted to tell a tale which doesn’t quite belong to this world. No problems; it’s good for an attempt. But then why not have your narrative walk along with the audience? Why to be 5 steps ahead at every point in the narrative?”
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Contd..:
For a product to be brought out in a market, there is a simple theory. Find a consumer. Or create one. There is no doubt that Anurag and his team would be dead sure that there is no consumer (read audience) waiting for a story like this to be served. Nothing wrong with that. Hota hai. After all you are bringing in a product which could be revolutionary, innovative, imaginative, bizarre. It’s ok. But then at what cost? At least have the product comprehendible enough for a consumer to make some sense out of it. Why to sell a burger with a layer of hakka noodles dipped in coconut ‘chatni’?
This is one of a good critic review I’ve read so far..no mind less ranting..decent analysis and POI.
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Thinkfloyd, perhaps if its a bad movie and u can resort to laughter and enjoy it too. this wasnt the case here. ppl seemed to enjoy it in my show atleast.
cheers …
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“I do not want to produce a work of art that the public can sit & suck aesthetically. I want to give them a blow in the small of their back, to scorch their indifference, to startle them out of their complacency” – Ingmar Bergman
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So, I understood No Smoking in the following ways:
First is a feeling of powerlessness and agitation that AK is trying to make us feel as much as he does.
Second, it’s a warning that if you flaunt your arrogance enough, the powers-that-be will smack you around and remind you how puny and insignificant you really are. The smack-down will be so heavy-handed that it will stamp that burning fire to make a difference out of your soul. It will kill even the most compulsive of behaviors.
And third, that your stubbornness over insignificant details (like a single rupee coin) will be punished many times over.
Finally, the ending is perhaps a message to us that the inscrutable powers that be aren’t just someone else’s nightmare but are out there in the real world.
To make a film requires a certain amount of hubris — bascially that anyone would care to hear your point of view. This drive, this passion, this compulsion to put your likeness on screen for others to watch and comment upon, makes filmmaking possible, but it can also make the man impossible.
Question for AK: Is everything symbolic, or are some things there more for emotional impact, such as K’s secretary and wife?
I haven’t read all of the NS threads, which are numerous at this point, so I apologize if I’m duplicating anyone else’s thoughts.
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dear anurag
i have always thought about you as harbinger of change in indian cinema.
paanch,black friday, and now no smoking …
a brilliant resume so far
when a “paanch” does not get a commercial release or a “gulal” gets shelved, i shed a tear…
no smoking… brilliant …but for a single crib.
i know you love your cigarettes and it was a given that this was not going to be an anti-smoking film. how you fooled (for want of a better word !) the censors is going to become a part of film-lore as say how that cheekily-inserted anti-british song “door hato aye duniyawalon yeh hindustan hamara hai” (kismet) proved too smart for the censors.
let me come to the point of my post. if only you had chosen any other tool apart from smoking as a metaphor for your fight for “freedom of choice” and your struggle against the system…alternative sexuality,promiscuity, howard roark-ish individuality,ayn rand-ish defence of hedonism, k (i know it not kafka’s joseph k but anurag Kashyap) fighting to make his kind of films in a system replete with mediocrity… any thing but smoking…because smoking has a passive angle…as one would not defend non-consensual sex…same with a non-consensual smoke …all tenets of freedom say “lead your life in any which way you want to as long as you do not harm others”. john, out of his own volition, smoked cigareetes as part of the shoot…but did the crew, the junior artistes present on the sets…was their consent taken?
you are one of my favorite writers and directors.
looking forward to “dev d”…. and may be a “know smoking” (you are unpredictable..may be one day you will give us a real anti-(non-consensual)smoking film !!) drop a line if i could connect…
more power to k
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I had great expectations from NO SMOKING and it did meet most of them…I believe in the dictum : If 80% of the product meets the expectations, the next 20 can be accepted as CL (Cinematic Liberties)….At least Anurag Kashyap had the guts to make an unconventional movie. Ofcourse it is not easy to comprehend and not for the audience who would want to watch mindless entertainment…..NO GUTS NO GLORY….
And yes I also feel that this movie is way way ahead of its time.
Take a bow,Anurag – You surely do have a great fan following and its just a matter of time :-)
Waiting for your next indulgence !!
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Hi Anurag;
First,I have not yet seen Black Friday(not yet but plan to do so in very near future) but for some strange reason i wanted to defend you against all the critics and their criticism,forget about Taran Adarsh for he is moron who has invented the three E’s(i don’t even want to know his reactions to
literary classics of Dostoevsky,Kafka,Thomas Mann etal,i shudder at the thought of his reviewing ‘The Stranger’ bu Camus) or how he would have rated the art of Picasso & Dali.Clearly if you want to bound and gag art if you define the limits and try to confine art within the limits you are trying to stifle it while there are certain social restraints which should be put into perspective that doesn’t necessarily mean grappling the art by the throat whenever some one tries to be different,maybe you can draw solace from the fact that till 1987 there were many public schools in the US which didn’t allow Darwin to be a part of the curriculum( well after more than a 100 years since it was well proven)and this we are talking about the most developed nation in the world,such is the regressive stance of our society which thrives on its own insecurities,hats off to you that you introduced surrealism in its purest form in India some day we will make our own ‘ eight and a half’,'wild strawberries’,'contempt’ and then you will be held as the father of the ‘Surrealist Movies Movement’ in India.
I congratulate you for your movies both ‘Black Friday’ and ‘paanch’ which i had the pleasure to watch and i will be watching this one soon.
P.S.- TARAN ADARSH- ‘Requiem for a Dream’ does neither of the three E’s and is still a much celebrated movie……….GROW UP!!!!!!!!
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Hi Anurag,
I believe in your work…..i love this movie for the simple reason that ‘You made it because you wanted to’…Fuck the audience…fuck TG and even fuck me..becuase i couldn’t get a one-shit when i saw it….but what i got then and there was this is nothing but a perfect example of a genetically modifed kid..who’s was created just for the fucking pleasure of creating….and no matter how it came out…its still good, simply beacuse i wanted it this way! Want to end with something I used to say in Bhopal
‘AAPNA KAAM BANTA, MAA CHUDAYEH JANTA’
Fritz Gonsalves
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Hey Anurag,
I may not be your average ‘intelligent’ audience that you were hoping to target…suffice to say that I expected a lot from you and went to watch the movie alone (for no one else would watch it after the reviews NS got). How I wish I could come out of the theatre vindicated and laughed at those who chose not to watch…how i wish
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1 more thing, some one pointed out about the standards of Indian audience he should be reminded of the fact that it simply is not true, many ‘arty’ movies (50’s -is a golden era is a pointer) till 80′ did well and after that consumerism happened and we abjectly started aping the West( without the technical brilliance or the watertight script,for even the worst of their lot is fundamentally more cohesive and structurally more united) also a lot of crap was made based on the persona of the earlier golden Bacchan saga(iam being biased here because i truly believe Mr.Bacchan is an iceberg of talent).There was a vacuume felt since with the withering away of ideology-socialism was a dying cause and so was the fate of such movies(however good they might have been)it effectively meant that people who were associated with this idea(unfortunately most of the good directors-Benegal,Nihlani,Saeed Mirza,Hrishikesh,Ketan Mehta etc.) had to close shop which was quickly engulfed by first crass copies of Western Action and Action thrillers and then by movies which started the practice of ‘hermaphroditiy’- it tried to balance the Western finesse with the Indian subtlety i.e. retrogressive concept of love and Indian Traditions(nonexistent???) thereby creating a niche in the NRI market where the Indian audience lapped it up(trying to exonerate himself of the ghosts of the parochial guilt and trying to create a place for himself in a rich Western society by addressing his own misgivings about India(apparently a poor country) and creating a India which boasts of such strong Traditional values and thus creating a even playing field where he can pass himself as a custodian of a rich spiritual and cultural values(real or imaginary) values vis a vis his materialistically plenteous western cousin,Satyajit Ray was prophetic when he said that “we have developed our films from the viewpoint of the American movies without the technical benchmark or the professional authority and it can only spiral into decadence”.
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I will keep this short (will anurag read it ?)
Even Kurusowa attempted suicide(you already know the story). since you have chosen to show people what “you” want them to see, and not what they want to see, you should not mind them rejecting your story for all artists who made that choice had to face rejection. Why should you at all get furious at paper reviews(and all others who think ur movie is 1.5 stars) “fuk thm” {the attitude of the rock musicians):
Meanwhile would love to see “Old BOy” kind of movie where you show anger and arrogance to the hilt. it will be banned (harmless entertinment he he he he )
P.S. sorry for preaching in the comment: had it not been for ur blog i wouldn’t have gone to see “no smoking” and sorry again i agree with the comment on “black Friday” on IMDB the film is badly edited (those red and blue tints are overdone) and loses it’s grip in the middle
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Hey Anurag,
I read the reviews before heading out to watch the movie.
After the movie, I figured out 2 things !!!
1. Most people who reviewed the movie were writing for the Amm Junta !!! They dont know abt good films or anything [Leave Mr Mansad out of this]
2. No Smoking is a Different movie. This is the real hatke movie.
You need to love good cinema to watch it and understand it !!!
Keep up the good work.
PS: whats next?
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Anurag Kashyap continues with his fascination for experimental cinema. This time he comes up with a film that would not have been possible even five years ago when he made bold to make
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it was a diferent story indeed but i felt that anurag lost the grip in the second half.kudos for attempting such a different genre but i wish it was not that surreal which it eventually became.all the best for gulal, paanch and dev d…
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Anurag,
I liked the whole look of the film. The first half as totally engrossing. Could you let us know what happens in the second half? I am sure each and every situation tries to tell something. Like the choice between cig and the bath tub in Russia, zero minute, 1 rupee etc. Please can anyone enlighten??
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Here is the link to the Rotten Tomatoes review site that links to many different reviews of NO SMOKING:
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/10009032-no_smoking/
I have to wait for the DVD version ,but am looking forward to it after reading all these comments.My one questions is if this is based on the Stephen King story how can Anurag not be sued when this film starts being shown at film festivals and in the US? It seems to be ok in India, but it won’t be anywhere else….
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I was hoping to catch u, like i did at Fame ADLabs, last time, on the release of Black Friday. Feel bad that i did not. As for No Smoking, i’m still quiet mixed feelings about it. Its been 3 days since i saw the film, and I honestly still dont know if i like the film or not, but i will watch it again. And like the last time i would love to work with you, Waiting for the next relase
Aditya
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Anurag, one line from the movie ‘Lagaan’ that should mkae u feel better… “Baarish ki pehli boond ko mitti mein milna hi padta hai.” So even if ur movie bites the dust, take heart. U’re the first one to attempt a movie no one till date would have dared to.
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hi anurag, haven’t seen the film but am now curious to see it. you might want to check out the intelligent and positive discussion of your film on http://www.bollywhat-forum.com/index.php?topic=17792.25 – bollywhat is a forum whose members are mostly american or NRIs and are very interested in good cinema and hence the discussions usually make a lot of sense
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Lage Raho Anuragbhai!! Yeh ab to chalta rehta hai…ab agli ki socho
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Andy and Larry Wachowski :-
“If you could have a film where you don’t get to the hour-and-a-half mark and know, ‘Okay, here it comes, the big wrap-up,’ but instead you have no idea how the movie’s going to end, I think that would be very exciting.” Andy puts his desire to shake up viewers a bit more bluntly. “We think movies are fairly boring and predictable. We want to screw with audiences’ expectations.” way to go mr “K”SHYAP….
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I thoroughly enjoyed No Smoking. For the simple reason, the movie has offered us a respite from the conventional rules of Hindi films. Though the film is not defined by a linear storyline, I don’t think that’s mandatory for a film. The dark humour is equally engaging. It’s high time we associate various ‘kinds’ of cinema with Hindi movies and No Smoking is a significant step in the direction. Keep up with your good work, Anurag!!!!
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Hi Anurag
I read the reviews of your film, without having watched the film. To say I was appaled at the way the critics have ganged up against you may be an understatement. Are they on the rolls of the famous Chopra’s and the Johars because they none of them have reviewed the film. They have reviewed your personality. They have not stated facts but have become judgemental about your vision.
I have seen Black Friday , loved the music, loved the pace and loved the ethos. It is much closer to reality then the obscenely directed and written fantasies that get passed as Indian Cinema. You know why I think they call the Mumbai film industry Bollywood….because it is a ‘B’ grade Hollywood.
You should continue the work you are doing. Their will always be viewers who will appreciate the work you are doing….for your next film…read “The reluctant Fundamentalist” …it may give you some ideas….till then chill and enjoy
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rights to that are already gone.. i read it one week too late.. love the book
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i have not seen “No Smoking ” until now, and looking forward to watch it no matter what the reviews says..how ever, what i find very hard to understand is how qualified these reviewrs are ,when it comes to the understanding of Cinema, i get a feeling that all these indivduals (the likes of Taran Adarsh, Rajeev Mansand, Raja Sen) have actually grown up on a staple diet of main stream cinema and hence- there knowledge to Art house cinema and Film Noir is just confided to a few films which they had to see in order follow intellectual conversations of ppl who actually have the understanding of cinema, if not participate in it!!..Cinema as any other form of Art is a form of Expressionism..its a statement a film maker makes, its his own personal uninfluenced thoughts and manifestation’s thereof.. if you believe in a story and you want to tell it then just say it..you will always have people with there pea size intellect who wouldnt understand it and those same individuals will also forget that there are people in the world who are smarter than them.. i think instead of a film maker (with established credentials like that of yours) its these self proclaimed critics who should be put under the microscope ..watching cinema and enjoying it is not the same as understanding Cinema, deconstructing it and enjoying the process of the whole thing is..these critics will have audacity to dismiss the work of Bergman,Terkovasky,Fellini or maybe even Satyajit Ray or Kubrick or Polanski by calling it reculsive, confusing and self indulgent..shouldnt we be glad that they have not yet seen any of the above directors work..the crux of what i am trying to say is, my friend..you keep making the kind of films you want to- today people may fail to understand it, but much later in time the same film may go down in history books..that is the real creative success and achievement..Black Friday was one of the best adapted screenplay i have ever seen in Indian Films and i sincerely hope that you keep making the kind of films you love to make…who listens to the critics anyway!! All the best
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Well Anurag firstly congrats for giving us an extr-ordinary film “No Smoking” which is far ahead of its time. You know this film is not for 2007, u should have to release its ibn 2050 or later. (Shayad tab unhe samjh me aa jati- Not Surre). Well, In our country, everyone has the right to defend for themselves…Thats what the Anurag is doing. He is defending his film “No Smoking” by calling Khalid a ‘chutiya’(no doubt he is). But I simply agree with the critcs. After watching the No Smoking I felt like to come to Anurag n ask for 250 bucks i spend to watch most stupidiest movie of the year!!!
Bravo Anurag!!! Only u can make such film but please watch it in your home theatre dont try to make the audience chutiya!!!
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Great movie Anurag… Cant come out of the hangover even after 2 days… Realyy.. you’ve got a bone to make such a movie and tell the irony of our lives in such a unique way.. !!!
Ofcourse this such movies are not for the dumb asses who gave those valuable reviews.
Reet
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And so Ayn Rand corrupted the world with her own corruption, devices to explain her own absurdity. It was only a matter of time ’til the Roarks and the Galts followed, a bloody alter, a foolish congregation.
Mr.Anurag, you can try and explain your movie in a 100,000 ways. You can come down to the level of using chaste hindi expletives against reviewers whom you yourself call lowly and debased. You can also hope for an audience for this movie, which according to you perpetrates an idea unto its own. However, great movies, great cinema is not the one which has to be explained, neither does the premise ‘man against the world’ explain your movie. It is an easy lure to count yourself amongst the directors who were ‘discovered’ much later, touted to have made movies much before their time. But believe me, none of them knew that before they died in poverty.
The last director who claimed to be making a movie before his time, was Subhash Ghai with ‘Yaadein’.
I hope you recover your senses before its too late. RGV had the grace to come out and accept.
Saurabh
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Hello Anurag,
A few questions i would appreciate being answered:
1. If ‘No Smoking’ is a metaphor for your struggle against the establishment/diktat, do you see yourself in K.?
2. How difficult it is to draw the line between the eccentric director nad the angst-ridden individual? is it at all possible to demarcate?
3. kafka is widely heralded as the most ready reference for your film. how about Dante, considering your film moots on the point of a tortured soul?
4. Anupama Chopra labelled ‘No Smoking’ as a film for aquired taste. Do you agree? Or do you think the director can still communicate such sophistication to an audience maybe not prepared for it? Shouldn’t there be special promotions for these films, preparing people to understand and appreciate the art better?
And finally, good or bad a huge Congrats on making the most talked-about film this year
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Hey Anurag,
I saw No Smoking on Friday night… Being an admirer of yours and your style of Cinema, I could not stop myself from watching this movie..
And needless to say, I loved the movie… I have been an admirer of Kafka, Kubrick and also Kaufman… I love movies that delve on to your mindscape and play with your thoughts and No Smoking did exactly that…
The movie is extremely multi-layered… On the surface it might seem to be an anti-smoking film, but as you begin to peel off the layers and deconstruct the movie, it sureky takes form of your story… It draws clever parallel between a smoker and his treatment and a non-conformist and his treatment by the so-called civilized society… It was arrogant and narcissistic and “K” was every inch an Anurag Kashyap.
It was phenomenal… The movie is the zenith of para-surrealistic, psychological and neo-noir films…
Pleae continue to treat us cine lovers with such artistic gems…
Fuck Khalid Mohammed, Yash Chopra and Karan Johar! They don’t understand cinema…
Remember – Behind every revolution, there’s always only One Man…
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VEry well Said Ramanathan…just what i think..
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Why is Anurag Kashyap doomed?
1. Because you are stupid. You have the stupidity to come up with a startling film that defies all genre norms and tight conventions that exist in this country regarding film-making. And you expect it to be lapped up? Hello? What were you thinking?
2. Because you are arrogant. You are arrogant to take on the existing system and the powers that be. And you are arrogant to call a rotting spade – “that piece of shit”. Well, you asked for it!
3. Because you are crazy up there. You have millions of brilliant ideas going in your head at any point of time, and you want to put all of them on to the silver screen. No, doesn’t happen that way!
4. Because you are a part of Bollywood and still can’t stand mediocrity, which is so all pervasive here. It’s like being in China and not liking the Chinese.
5. Because you dream. You dream to change the
system…dream to bring about the new order…dream to get us all to the Promised Land. Wake up! And if someone didn’t tell you as yet, let me say this – There is NO Promised Land.
6. Because you depress me, and people like me. Your story reminds us that there is no point in going the whole hog in doing what you want to. Because even if you do a mind-fucking job of it, it’s not going to work. You depress us, Anurag, and we curse you for that.
7. Because your heart and your brain have a worse
sense of agreement than the Americans and Russians during the Cold War. Your heart whispers – “No Smoking” and your brain screams – “Main aisa hi hoon”. Matter versus Money, Class Versus Mass, Obscurity versus Recognition. And these two voices kill you inside every moment.
8. Because you take cinema seriously. It’s a burning passion for you. And it’s candyfloss for everyone around you.
9. Because you are born in this country. Period.
10. And last but not the least, you are doomed, Anurag Kashyap, because you are a FUCKING GENIUS. Talent doeswhat it can, but genius does what it has to. Inside, you know that this is the only thing you can do. But in the same inside, you also know that it’s not possible.
Like all geniuses, you are doomed, Anurag Kashyap. And you know it. The moment I saw K’s soul look at his body from behind that glass partition towards the end of your absolutely brilliant film, I knew that you
knew it.
You made me eat my words, but I don’t hate you for that. I will hate you forever for that ending.
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Dear Anurag,
I haven’t seen NS. I haven’t seen Black Friday either, for God knows what reason. But now I have an intense desire to rent a DVD and see it(Black Friday, I mean). About NS, I’m not so sure, but I may catch it later, maybe again on DVD.
Meanwhile, I have a few things to say to you because I hate people I respcet being so defensive.
I love cinema, and I don’t go by the reviews. God knows most of them suck. My knowledge about World Cinema is close to zilch. Sure, I’ve heard of Kafka and the rest of the intellectual gang of filmmakers. And I have seen certain classics like All That Jazz and, and,…(told ya, my knowledge isn’t much). But I’ll say this: I enjoy ANY movie that MOVES me. From box-office disasters like Black Sunday, Wages of Fear and The Stuntman to blockbusters like Jaws, Die Hard and God help me, even Face-Off. The point is, when I buy a ticket and sit in a darkened hall, I wish to forget every damn thing that’s been bugging me the whole day and wuld like to be transported to another world. I should feel so involved that even after I come out of the hall, that ‘other-worldly’ feeling should stay with me at least till I reach home and hit the sack.
However, being transported is one thing. Being taken for a ride is another. Like I felt when I watched Memento. The damn movie was so gripping and I was so excited, that when it finally ended, I felt it was such an exercise in futility. The ending brought me crashing down. I could almost visualise the Director Christopher Nolan, sitting above my head, giggling hysterically and saying, “Gee, I’m so smart, ain’t I? And you guys are such dumb suckers. Fooled ya, fooled ya, fooled ya! ”
But take The Usual Suspects. When the final twist came, I alongwith the entire audience, stood up and clapped. Think about it, Anurag. There must be a difference. There’s always a fine line you can’t cross, or you’ll come across as someone who’s just too arrogant and wants to entertain himself, rather than the audience who’s trusted you and come to watch your film.
Once again, I haven’t watched NS, so I can’t judge in any way. But going by the way you initially reacted to the criticism, I had felt a little sad. Honestly, your reaction to Khaleed Mohammed’s review put me off. Whatever that man might be, you’re indirectly giving him too much importance by lashing out. You could have ignored him and your graceful silence would have spoken volumes.
I almost lost the respect I had for you. But then came PLAYBACK’s sensible criticism and when I read that you appreciated it, all that respect for you came back. That’s really how your attitude should be, Anurag. Because I still feel you’re one of the top guys who are heralding a major change in Bollywood. You, Shimit Amin, Sriram Raghavan, Vishal Bharadwaj,…yes, there are quite a lot of you now out there who can turn Bollywood around.
So let’s see you put all this behind you and blaze ahead.
All the very best.
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I think Khalid needs to take a class in review lessons.. what a pathetic review… it was some mumbo-jumbo and one could see it easily that he hates AK..and his guts..
Well, Khalid needs to think abt movies like that silly Karisma starrer.. i cant even rem its name!! or that overly melodramatic Urmila starrer..
Bah!!
As for NS – all revolutinary ideas need time to sink in.. one day – it will happen..
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http://www.businessofcinema.com/boc/?file=story&id=5625
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Anurag ji rediff pe chat kar rahe hainnnnnn….sab log jaake khooodo!!!
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Anuragiji, yahan ki tarah rediff pe bhi mere sawalon ka jawab nahi de rahe
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LOL!! Not even mine!! hahaha!!
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Tough luck…
Try some of these
Fireproof- Raj Kamal Jha
Romantics- Pankaj Mishra
The Bastard of Istanbul
That Summer in Paris
The collector’s wife
Animal’s People
and if you cant get them let me know…I will give you my copies.
All these are worth much more
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As usual mere ko bhi jabab nahi de rehe hai :((:((
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I thought he recognized my nick and changed my nick and asked questions as “sexysimran” too! NOPE! Not even then did he reply! LOL!!! :D :D
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Machchar – Anyway, they say the understanding of the movies reflect the stage any society is in
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Chat khatam hogaya ya udhar bhi ban kar diya?
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mere 64 sawaloun main se sirf 2 ke jawaab mile
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Rajveer, I never asked Bhavani Iyer to speak in Munnbhai lingo, I just asked her in humour if she “ever” speaks in Munnabhai lingo. Go read my comments once more and try to make the difference when I comment something in jest or not.
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The concept… the philosophy was brilliant and if it was meant for those 10% then it really is a brilliant, mindfucking, progressive film…
lekin mere khayal se har film maker zyaada se zyaada logon tak pahunchna chahta hai.. no denying that.
Thoda narration kahin na kahin pe maat kha gaya…warna to do this kind of experiment in Bollywood.. Gaand mein Guuda chahiye yaar….
tel lene gayi duniya, aap kule khao, nange nahao
Aur maine lift waale scene mein aapko pehchaan liya Anuraag bhai ;)… akela jo jaata hun..aapki filmen.. woh bhi morning show
And will do the same for your next one too.. kyunkii… Form is temporary.. Talent is permanent….
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dont you think, so much bashing of critic will hurt your own career in the long run? I am concerned because in the end you will go to hollywood to make movies and thus we will loose another great director. No smoking is subtle, very subtle as i know. And therefore i imagined that your answer will be subtle in the form of your next great masterpiece. Remember Sachin Tendulkar?
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for my personal notes on the film NO SMOKING by Anurag Kashyap you may check this blog entry:
http://bsayantan.blogspot.com/2007/10/no-smoking-film-by-anurag-kashyap.html
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Hey Anurag,
here’s my review of the film, posted on my blog site: http://bloguru.com/varungrover
Would love to have your comments/reaction there.
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abbe tum log kitne reviews post karoge!! Bacche ki jaan lena hain kya? Okay okay tum sab log intelligent ho aur bahut dimagi log ho!! Sometimes I really wonder why people are so thick!!
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I want to make movie too , Could u plz write me number of RGV i think he can produce it.
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Wow, the sheer number of comments here! I wish more of these were educated comments. Some people come here just to post smiley icons and get personal. Shouldn’t we have more informed comments? Quite a few need a crash course in cinema.
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HEy Anurag!!!
Hw cn i call My GOD by name???? SORRY. Hey God jus saw ur film and realised tht Smeone in this country hs guts to make smething which this Indian Audience will nvr like it. HATS OFF to u God! Superb concept,Superb script, Superb execution. Sir dont gv them a shit who dint like it. For me it ws one of the best film i hv ever seen frm India Cinema. Fuck them who says its bad.
m a film student. In nxt 9 months wud luv to assist u. and I kno I will. Thot of getting ur number and msgin abt my take on ur film bt this a better option thnx fr this site.. jus chill out U hv done a gr8 job. N m sure U r da one who’ll change this BABUL,VIVAH and KANK industry.
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Anurag at his irreverant best on rediff chat-
—-
Someone asked, Hi Anurag, Nor I heard good reviews about ur movie neither I am a smoker . Why should I watch it ?
Anurag Kashyap answers, don’t..
—-
Anurag, as someone on the chat suggested, Please release the DVD with your commentary on every scene. It will otherwise be a great loss to all of us.
Thanks,
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as dazed and confused said..please release the DVD with your commentary..and kartik krishnan told there were longer scenes of annie in the rough cut..please include them too in the DVD…thanks
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Sudhir Mishra: “Anurag should be careful of admirers”
http://www.indiafm.com/features/2007/10/29/3197/
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Anurag Sir,
I liked it…plzz do whatever interests you…only thing that dint click with me is that I dint feel for the relatives of K that were tortured as I had felt while watching Quitters Inc…
Baki movie jhakaas…Hats off 2 u…thxx 4 the movie…
-anand
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Hi Anurag. I must tell you I really admired your film (so did my husband and friend who accompanied me).
I have to say – I think the reaction to your film has been suspiciously spiteful and unfair – almost like some vendetta is going on. I say ’suspicious’ because of two incidents I noted over the weekend.
In a UK magazine write-up on the film, John’s character was referred to as ‘Sashank’ throughout. Eh? If that person had actually SEEN the film they’d know John was called ‘K’.
Secondly, on Sunday an Indian critic loftily declared that he supposed the ‘mystery of why Ayesha Takia played both secretary and wife would remain locked in Anurag’s mind for years to come’ (or some such nonsense). Again, if this person had actually WATCHED the film they would’ve seen the reason she plays a double role being quite clearly explained!! What was he DOING at that point, one wonders? Going to the the toilet? Texting his mates? God, what a moron – paid to watch films and can’t even do THAT right!
It’s a great film, Anurag. PLEASE don’t let Eros fuck up the DVD because I certainly intend to buy it. Vxx
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With my comment DOWN HERE I am not sure if Anurag wud read it…bt if you do, I have just one word for you – Genious.
No Smoking was a journey that left behind so many thoughts that its been eight hours and I haven’t stopped thinking. Numerous interpretations and manifestations of the same movie has left my mind exhausted, but excited. Looking forward to watching it again…and more of your movies. Forget the critics…I think you’ve achieved what you wanted. To make movies on your own terms…and make ‘em good…I am not aware of any of the world cinemas that are discussed here, but as an audience I am rarely so impressed by a movie.
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@manish..
on suggestin tht anurag should try the book “the reluctant fundamentalist”…
it’s rubbish…hamid’s moth smoke is far far better than the one reccomended by u…thnkfully, someone is already makin a movie on it…RAHUL BOSE…
to Anurag..
i dn’t know if u’ll be allowed…but i think u should try out somethin like what irvine welsh writes,if u r serioulsy considering a film adapted from a book….he writes good n hilarious stuff…n somethin diff too…
think about it!
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And now the bible is the second greatest story ever told… I asked one of my mentors once, Mr. Sanjay F Gupta “What is Cinema?” and he replied “Its the most experimental artform” And Anurag my brother you’ve taken experimentation to another level, “How the fuck do you think like that, man?” And I mean that in a good way, I remember I bumped into you in the studio while you were doing the title sequence for the film, and you told me watch the movie at your own risk, and I took that risk and trust me I have no regrets… Its awesome material and really “out there”, Don’t give a shit (Which I am so sure you don’t) about what Khalid or his tom and dick have to say about the way make movies…
I am eagerly waiting for your next project and I am sure you gonna kill it man !
Good luck and God bless, peace out!
>-
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According to IBOS, no smoking has not done all that good at the box office. Even JWM started slow and picked up but JWM is a date movie atleast so it can pick up. People may think No Smoking is a documentary.
http://www.ibosnetwork.com/newsmanager/templates/?a=21012&z=4
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Hi Anurag,
I know you are a tallanted director. I hav not seen No Smoking yet, but the reviews are too bad. From the messages I got to know that it’s not a movie for common people, but might be for people like us. Anyway I will watch it for sure.
Btw one thing I could say about the blown-out-of-proportion of your movie’s review. The reason is for your comments on other’s work, which a normal indian do not like. I am so educated and settled in US, and I know my friend’s reaction, everybody has the same question how could you spit on Karan Johar, you could have done, when you have shown that much of success, and surely it will back fire u.
As a friend I suggest you, do not show your arrogancy on media, it happened with Ram Gopan Verma and you are the next!
Thank You,
Well wisher
SSP
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hats off Anurag….
ur movie jst takes to a different world altogether where u cant differentiate between reality n illusion. i dnt think it can be classified as good or bad. its just “IT”. amazing camerawrk, amazing framing n JD if u r reading this, amazing DI.
n i think writing such a complex script needs a lot of vision n reading. i knw ppl here wnt let it but it deserves to go for Oscars. nt jst to get an award but also to make hollywood ppl see tht we can produce such kind of cinema in India.
wish u a lot of No Smokings n lot of success.
BRILLIANT!!!
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Project from a film school student with an Netflix account.
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Hi Anurag
Keep making the films u wanna make. As a filmmaker watching your film was like homework for me. Learnt a lot of things which can help newcomers.
But I must say this films is not for everyone.
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OZ,Anurag or anyone responsible pls check my mail i n ‘contact’ section and take the necessary action against the website mentioned..
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fakename – the necessary action is being taken. pls dnt post the link anywhere…
Thanks again
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I let a go a sigh of relief when i saw no smoking. Not because it affirmed my belief that this couldn’t be as bad as the reviews potrayed it to be. But to finally see a film like this in Bollywood. I loved the look of the film, the camera work, the script. everything. Saw cat eyes’ quite sometime back, and no smoking’s been brilliantly inspired. The camera angles reminded me of trainspotting at some places, which is great, since i always loved trainspotting for the same. Overall, kudos! Havent seen a hindi movie that would shake me so much in a long time. Cheers!
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A frequent reader of this place ever since read anurag
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@taru
I think its need of the time to call by names. :D I personally like cursing, screaming here. I do not wish PFC to become KWK scratching balls in the name of decorum. You talk about literature but they are full of abusive, incestuous, sadistic, etc instances .
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@taru…u r welcome here. ofcourse we cant control everyone. each one have their own way of expressing things. wish everyone followed some decorum.
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@taru: Many many years back, there was these IRC networks called dALnet, UnderNET, Efnet etc. They were all open source….Democracy on the web!! Different servers connecting and making on big IRC network! There was minimal moderation and lotsa frank talk! The way people talk normally when they are in a cafe, hanging around near the playground etc.
Then came ex-LiveWorld employees sponsored TalkCity!It became hugely popular but amongst the non-internet savvy population. There was too much moderation, too much insistence of maintaining decorum, it became a fucking old people’s club! Even saying shit got you banned from there! Soon TalkCity went bust. dALNet, Undernet and Efnet are still going strong…
I want PFC to be more like dALnets and Undernets, not like TalkCity….This should be a place where everyone talks like they do when they are with friends, colleagues. Tell me, do you come from such a prudish background that you never heard a friend say “Chutiya” ever? Just because someone types “Chutiya” online, you guys cover your arse and mouth and shout murder! What the fuck!! Okay…Even saying fuck is an issue? Abbe…don’t behave like chuts! grow up! We are too busy discussing serious issues here to worry about decorum! I can’t talk for PFC but according to me, YES, if you don’t like the language, don’t visit the place, at least until there is an offical ban on such language! (How silly can you guys get?)
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A review of No Smoking-
http://www.padmajathakorereviews.blogspot.com/
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hi anurag,
just saw the movie(no smoking).
right up there along black friday. keep making them!
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Considering the number of people who have criticsed this movie,I am assuming the movie should be a hit by now?I wouldnt mind sitting through NO SMOKING one more time,but unfortunately there isnt much of a ‘takeaway’,had it been a mystery or a whodunnit,watching it a second time would put things into place,but NO SMOKING is like a piece of art kept open for analysis.I am a fan of huge Michael Haneke
,but I even I found NO SMOKING a bit too cyptic,save the ordinary movie goers not used to such a treat
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Fame Adlabs just cancelled the 10:30 show. Wanted to catch it the second time. Lets see if cinemax can provide the answer…Man! the reactions sure are a mindfuck in themselves. Keep em coming….!
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I guess “Sushovan Sircar” just summed it up with his comments. I suppose it is quite understabdble if someone donse’t like “No Smoking”. I don’t think Anuraag made it for an average hindi movie viewer, but a critic, who is supposed to be an “expert” of cinema, how can they call it “the worst movie of the year”. The critics in India can be quite laughable at times. Still remember the time, when a movie named “Champion” came put, and a Taran Adarsh review gave it a 4* rating. I dragged my family to watch in the cinema, and boy, it was then I knew never to trust a Taran Adarsh review since. Infact the moment he gave “No Smoking” a 1 star, I knew it was going to be a good movie…oh well, to be honest I knew it all along…way to go Anuraag, if only I could get to work as a assistant with you.
Bravo!!
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What is the “system”?
Was the “Ram Setu” actually there?
When will India “Shine”?
Are we a superpower yet or are getting there?
Questions and answers left unsaid…we should be pretty used to them now and as a nation built on “aashwasans” and promises unkept, we shouldn’t be pestering a man who built you a beautiful and bizzare (if you please) world of clues, quetions and answers left hanging in the air for clear cut answers and a linear pattern if he is portraying a muddled, labrynthine space that is the human mind.
Lets chill and enjoy the ride. We anyways seem to have too much time.
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No Smoking works, and works big time for me. It is different, unpredictable, intelligent, stylish, ambitious, and technically superior to any of the Hindi films that have released in the last few years.
Though I feel it could have been marketed differently. Probabaly should have taken the film Festival route before hitting the Indian theatres. You know how the Indian audience reacts to seeing a film that has won any International Film Festival award:) But all this in Hindsight…it’s to easy to say “Yuvraj Singh should have defended the ball instead of trying to loft the ball over extra-cover and getting out”!!!
No Smoking for me is a film about “GUTS”.
And how the system is self-programmed to crush the guts of any individual who dares to live life on his own terms. A person who is courageous enough to speak his mind is considered to be dangerous in this society. What prompts the society to be so scared of such “individuals”. Probably, because such a confident man makes the others feel “inferior and guilty”. Holds a mirror to their meek caving in. Reminds them how inadequate they are… a fact that they already know in their sub-conscious mind…
Ah, just felt like saying a few things…after watching this fabulous piece of motion picture.
Hats off to the Director and his great team. Particular mention for the Sound Design and Editing team.
PS:I noticed that “K” has an asthmatic brother who is named “J”. Is that a tribute to Karan Johar(K.J)?
Another good hearted suggestion: “No Smoking” should be re-released in 2 years time, probabaly after visiting a few more film festivals. I feel the audience will be more ready and mature by then. Right now, the indian audience is more like overgrown kids…like Salman Khan and Sanjay Dutt:)))they look well-fed and grown up, but have the IQ of 13 year olds(Or is it 12 year olds)
Congrats Anurag once again and way to go.
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Some wise words from Sudhir Mishra…
http://www.indiafm.com/features/2007/10/29/3197/index.html
(…and it’s Passion FOR Cinema, not Passion OF Cinema)
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Man.. NS rocks. In every aspect. No I am not going to review it here , but just wanted to tell you how amazing the movie is and how its top notch in all aspects of cinema. Boss, pls don’t bend ur rules and pls continue making the kind of cinema which appeals to u. Ppl might realise ur genius a few years from now when your work becomes more kaleidoscopic, but for me u are already there. Our hindi movies’ answer to world cinema. Just keep going boss .. and keep it coming for us. Do be Do be Do. Aur Do. Dete jao. Jam kar do. Bilkul hilai diye ho boss ! Just don’t change ur cinema.. pls.
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Anurag,
Loved Black Friday. I went to see this film not holding on to the emotions or biases connected to Black Friday. I went to see No Smoking to see No Smoking without thinking of the fact that this is the same director that directed Black Friday.
Unfortunately, many people are afraid to admit it but you completely missed the mark this time. No Smoking has no genre it can be categorized in! I mean I understand that every film maker has the right to make the kind of cinema he envisions. But, at the same time, when you are responsible for a film that has a commercial cast and a world wide release, you cannot just give them a lame product! talking about the film…Please no one confuse Anurag with likes of Stanley Kubrik and Woody Allen and such directors.Neither can this film be compared to films like Vanilla Sky and Eternal Spot…. Those films were great because they were successful in portraying the unconscious mind alongside the conscious mind. Those films had a resolution where the audience knew what was surreal and what was real. In No Smoking the surreal and real exists together! SO many jump cuts are used to confuse the audience with intentions to confuse and puzzle the audience. But the puzzle and confusion was never solved. The director tried too hard to make a “unique” film but turned out that he tried way too hard to do it hollywood style and in that lost his own focus in coming up with a good film. I dont want to describe scenes because that would be wrong of me to reveal for people who havent seen the film. But everyone that has seen it would stand by me that the film is a collage of images that are supposed to make sense in the end but they DONT! Anurag dont get too carried away in your ego and pride. You are responsible for making different cinema with Black Friday and it was a commendable effort. But with No SMoking you’re pushing it way too far. People respect creativity if done right.
And for all those that believe that Indian Movie goers and no educated and dont have the sense for good cinema you guys are completely wrong! Moviegoers are made aware of good films if good films come their way. A Film like Johnny Gaddar was accepted by the Indian audience that was able to see it. A film like Kaun by Ram Gopal Varma was accepted. A film like Ek Haseena Thi and Beign Cyrus was well made. These are thrillers, I understand they are different from No Smoking but yet they are made my directors that want to stray away from commercial cinema and offer something different.
In the end, No Smoking is an arrogant director’s effort to try to prove how superior he is by putting a collage of shots together that have no relevance to each other or to the audience since the real and the surreal is mixed in and mashed in together.
i SAY AGAIN…DO NO CONFUSE KASHYAP FOR HOLLYWOOD LIKES BECAUSE HE IS NOT!
IF ANYONE NEEDS TO KNOW MY BACKGROUND…I AM AN INDIAN BORN AMERICAN LIVING IN NEW YORK FOR 20 YEARS. I AM A BIG FAN OF CINEMA AND RESPECT ALL KINDS OF CINEMA. MY REVIEW IS COMPLETELY UNBIASED AND REAL BECAUSE I DONT KNOW HOW ELSE TO RESPOND TO THE FILM “NO SMOKING” THAT I SAW YESTERDAY AND WALKED OUT RIDICULOUSLY DISAPPOINTED.
—-please excuse spelling errors as i am not proof reading this post—
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Just saw the movie today…..the movie rocked……hats off to you for attempting something like this in the bollywood world of feel good movies!!!
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I am just glad to see that there are others like me who loved the movie and more importantly love this kinda film making.
rOck on !
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Hi Anurag,
I dont know it will reach you or not, but still wanna tell you something:
1. I belong to “Aam Janta”, and on any given occassion I would love to take my childrens to a rolly polly movie then the show them “Paanch” or and “Black friday” or this “No Smoking”.
2. I am a close follower of your life in the bollywood and I love your work. I respect your intellect about movies.
3. whatever you say, but Khaled succeded in bringing you to the level of your saying C*&#@*e and his job is done.
4. Wanna prove your calibre, bring out a Movie which works where you work. See Vishal Bhardwaj he is a perfect example.
Adi
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anuragsir ,
i watched no smoking and really enjoyed it . its an intelligent film beautifully written. it is bizzare towrds the end at the same time its profound.
please dont loose hope cause its experimentl and audiences will evolve enough to enjoy in years to come …
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Anurag
Big fan of urs. Loved Black Friday, can rattle of Satya anytime anywhere. Yeh wala kuch samajh mei nahin aya. But doesnt matter. I feel a filmmaker makes movies for himself and does not put a gun on the public’s head to go watch it. So keep it up. U had won me over with Satya 10 yrs back and will watch atleast the next 5 of ur movies.
Abhra
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No Smoking by Anurag Kashyap is a first-of-its-kind in Indian cinema. To my knowledge, no Indian filmmaker has ever dared to weave such a complex visual phantasmagoria- a continuous series of bizarre images- a prolonged nightmare lasting over two hours. And yes, as was expected by Anurag, many, including the moron category of film critics (which includes Taran Adarsh, Nikhat Kazmi_TOI and Khaled Mohamed_HT) have got it wrong. In Anurag
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Hello Anurag,
I liked the concept aatma hai to sharir ishwar hai nahi to woh nashwar hai …. told in such a complex manner i suggested my freind keyur patel(an unusually talented person a misfit in todays world) to watch it as according to me hes the only person after you who can tell me what n why the story was told in such a manner. waiting for him to watch the movie.
We appreciate you being U.
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Hey Anurag,
Just a suggestion with the kind of rave reviews, Probably you could come up with ur next big cinematic Idea and then u can certainly look up to the Connoisseurs of ur cinema to Produce it dude….
i am game……..
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Hi Anurag,
I went to watch your movie yesterday at an Indian theater here in LA and guess what there were just three of us and two more people viewing the movie. Initially, I was expecting a full house but alas I guess our Indian reviewers had their day. I would just like to congratulate you and Vishal for doing EXACTLY what Hindi cinema needs. Make brilliant films like No smoking and maqbool, black friday,etc.
Who cares about our Indian press when I am sure David Lynch would have saluted you on this effort!
All the best
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i too smoked classic milds… but that is not the point. the point is that all these people ranting away that u r arrogant, that u r trying to show off as a genius and such stuff is bullshit. the truth is that u (and i too) like this kind of cinema, where thinking is involved. something to stimulate the mind, not just spoon fed entertainment. the truth is that u r not showing off when u cite a travis bickle incident or a kakfasque sequence but that u love it. it is your passion and that is what people should understand.
it is what u have grown up with, what u admire and appreciate and that is why u try to make films like NS.
u r the ray of hope. i think u r brave to dare and take the criticism. i read your chat on rediff and comments here. everyone was throwing assaults on you but handled them well. my fav was:
asfs: bhaiya kya kar rahe ho?
anurag kashyap: marwa rahe hain
i hope you dont change and submit to the public. make what ur heart feels like… and fuck ‘em all!
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Hi Anurag,
Talking pictures are a very powerful medium. It is very rare that someone gets it just right and
is able to communicate exactly what he wants to, and to communicate it effectivly and entertain at
the same time takes a special genius. It is extreemly difficult. But, every once in a while someone is able to accomplish just that and shows the rest of us how it should be done. You have done exactly that with “No Smoking.”
Keep up the good work, after all “chuteye to chuteye he rahenge”, let’s forget about the “critics” in our country. Let them rejoice with Kabhi kushi kabhi junk.
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Sarkar ek soch hai.
Subhash Nagre ek aadmi.
Aur Anurag Kashyap ek director.
Soch ko marna bahut mushkil
Aadmi ko marna aasan hai.
Aur Director ko marna ?
Tera time khatam.
Dishkyaon. Dishkyaon.
Mauka sabko milta hai.
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“When I say that consciousness is an illusion I do not mean that consciousness does not exist. I mean that consciousness is not what it appears to be. If it seems to be a continuous stream of rich and detailed experiences, happening one after the other to a conscious person, this is the illusion”
-Susan Blackmore
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Hey Anurag,
A big fan of Black Friday here..I liked “No Smoking” although I must say I didn’t love it as much as I would have liked…My main issue was with the length of the movie, do you think it could have been reduced to under 2 hrs and not compromise on the integrity of the movie ? Here’s a question, did you feel compelled by the commercial needs of the theatrical business in India that the movie was over 2.5 hrs ? Or is it because it was real hard for you to edit out the moments, which when individually viewed are brilliant, but may be stretch a bit too much…I have always believed that poignant real, shocking movies should be snappy and quick…audience shudn’t get time INSIDE the theatre to linger and ponder over the thoughts…Pester them with shock, and let them do the thinking at home…
The other thing that irked me a bit was the two musical numbers..you see as soon as you do that “world critics” categorize the movie as a musical and thereby robbing it of it’s true genre…Again the same question here – were the musical numbers purely commercial interests ? Please tell me the answer is no…I didn’t like Vishal’s music (the background score was excellent tho), especially the last song when the soul gets trapped…I thought a Linkin Parkish strong number would have been apt there…and not a philosophical obvs. lines..
Other than these, the movie was awesome…!!! great technicals, I loved it….good flow..great job again
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passionforcinema generating some real passion these days :-) :
http://alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details?url=passionforcinema.com
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Yet another review but this is one is by none other than Bhardwaj Rangan and as usual he is on the mark:
http://www.desipundit.com/baradwajrangan/
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dear anurag,
at the outset, let me congratulate you on “black friday” which happens to be one of my favourite films right up there with pulp fiction, big lebowski, dogville, etc.
i live in bangkok and unfortunately i get to see only those movies in theatres which are expected to be commercial hits like LCMD, Umrao Jaan and even Dhamaal…Indian audience in particular and the Thailand population in general are not open to anything beyond linear storytelling in a commercial domain – movies like Grindhouse come and go without any success, Almodovar to them is a spanish appetizer !!!
I do not buy pirated dvds on principle, so i guess i would have to wait for “No smoking” – however, i have been following promos and the reviews and posts in PFC and while i cannot comment on the movie at this stage, i do sense some dichotomy in your mind on the verge of being irritatingly confused.
On one hand, I see you projecting that you have made a movie you believe in with a “fuck-you-charlie” attitude to the critics and audience alike, on the other hand you are craving for the same people to endorse your film and when same goes missing, i see you justifying your creation and getting angry in the process. On one hand, you claim you knew that the movie will fall flat on most of your audience, on the other hand you are somewhere expecting the segment, which is beyond your target, to like/love the film.
I feel this will not happen – a Mulholand drive, Inland Empire, even Blue Velvet is not for everybody. The moment you choose to make a film like this (i am guessing based on things written here) you have to consciously accept that it is meant for people who have grown up on Bergmans, Kurosawas, Bunuel, Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, etc and continue to be enamoured with Almodovar, Chan Woo Park, Wong Kar Wai…This percentage is genuinely thin in India and to give the poor critics their dues, they are reviewing a film not only as a critique but also as a pointer to the masses on what to expect on the film. Reviewers at rediff.com are catering to a wide audience (which you are not) – so to a certain extent they are serving a purpose of telling the audience that it will fall flat on them.
IMHO, you have made a film you believe in and just be happy about it – there are many people who do not end up making what they want to…way to go, dude !!!
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Ankit, I was about to post that. Rangan’s is the most balanced, detailed, and assimilative review of the film I’ve read so far.
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Hi AK,
i havent seen the movie as yet. but will definately make it this saturday. i dont care what the review says. i know that u r a talented director and your movies are worth a watch. even if it has not been able to create a magic at the box office..keep up the good work!!! cheers::d
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Hey Anurag, I haven’t seen the movie yet because i was going with the reviews …. but the way you are saying and as i have seen your movie “Black Friday” and have admired it …. i am going to see “No Smoking”. And please anurag … don’t stop making movie like this which gives some message…. don’t go with reviews … you make the movies that you like to make …..
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Hi Anurag,
It isn’t surprising that there are so many bad things that are being said about your latest offering. As there is enough historical evidence which suggests that whenever the self assumed authorities on any subject are challenged by something which is on a higher intellectual pedestal and hence incomprehensible by them, they rubbish it as an exercise in vanity. But efforts like ‘No Smoking’ have a lifecycle of their own and probably 10 years down the line when they are re-discovered and established as the cult, responsible for starting a new cinematic movement altogether, the same critiques would thank heavens for their well deserved state of obscurity (I am sure the present lot of film critics would become a treasure of laughing stock by then…as if they are not that today). The classic example of a similar scenario is
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LOL Same here Sushovan. I live in Kathmandu, Nepal and was forced to go for Bhool Bhulaiyaa instead by my freinds. Will go for the movie tomorrow ALONE. Hehe……….;)
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Just recollected some thing i read about long back in College Fountainhead and Howard Roark’s Character reading Anurags article.
Lot of simiarities
Hope u have peace in your mind for making another no smoking if u really liked making the movie that is
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Finally, a critic : http://www.desipundit.com/baradwajrangan/
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Finally, a critic :
http://www.desipundit.com/baradwajrangan/2007/10/30/review-no-smoking/
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So now those who rate NS highly are ‘critics’!!
im outta here!!! (for few days.. that is
)
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The 1st frame brought a big smile on my face and it stayed till the end and beyond… often not beliving my eyes,Marveling at the sheer brillianc. Sincere respect to Anurag.Thankyou for “No Smoking”.
This multilayered movie can blow your minds off and can come as a big revelation if you r are open to it..
Its time the audience wakeup from deep slumber and start doin something about their skewed,ignorant, and selfish minds. Wht evolution failed to do in these million years is take the animal out of humans and expecting that happning thru a movie is a big joke.
So for some one to appreciate nosmoking, it wud require a complete overhauling of the human system..
So m expecting a billion years more..
Fortunately society is made up of individuals and someone like anurag has the balls and the gift to destroy the microscopic understanding of life.
Way to go,NS is ahuge undertaking and you have beaten all odds in gettin it made, you stand apart from the rest of the crowd. It could be a little lonely but they all are looking up to you. My best wishes to all your future endeavors. Godbless.
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Hi,
I have a rule that I do not watch a movie alone in the theater. I broke that rule for the first time recently and I am glad it was for a movie like “No Smoking”. The layers and connotations in the film was something I thoroughly enjoyed. And for all that the so called “critics” have to say about the film being too intellectual,might I say that I watched the movie in a multiplex which for some strange reason was filled with lots of guys who “looked” like they were the normal people and not the “intellectual” arty- farts, and the when the movie ended, most of the audience spontaneously applauded. Rajiv Masand,may have been partially right when he said that movies in this genre in India are an acquired taste. But if the reaction of the crowd was anything to go by, I think its time movie makers stop working on assumptions and delusions that the audiences cant “understand” cinema which is not run of the mill.
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All sorts of cinema should co-exist..so shall no smoking..classic case of acquired taste-cinema.
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Madhura on October 30th, 2007 3:42 am
and the when the movie ended, most of the audience spontaneously applauded.
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Madhura, i think u intellectually missed out sarcasm there!!
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I think we have entered a phase wherein word of mouth publicty works better than reviewers pointers. Every friday or sat morning…people wake up with their have closed eyes to read up on the latest review..to get enteratined with the sarcastic language used to describe the movie and its plot.its more of an entertainment thing than information. but who takes cues anyway.jo reviewrs ka stars dekh ke jaata hai woh duniya ka sabse badaa chutya hai..go wid ur gut feeling mann
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Hi,
Just wanted to commend you on making a film that got people negotiating their deals with reality. And while most people would probably like ‘No Smoking’ because of the legacy of ‘Black Friday’ (you know how it is to just keep liking an artist’s work because you really like one of his previous pieces? ), I think this whole discussion on why you made what you made the way you made it is interesting. Looks like comprehension is a big part of agreement, and hence a big part of acceptance. I suppose that’s the way it is. We all can’t be Voltaires – to may not agree with what you say but fight with our lives for your right to say it.
Again, a very neat job with ‘No Smoking’.
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Dear Anurag,
My name is Sunny Mann, and I live in california. I have been in business of entertainment most of my life. I am a hindi movie buff and have seen most of the movies. Till now I had a tremendous repect for you as a filmmaker, actor, bloger. You are awesome at what you do. But that does not mean others don’t know what they are doing. Cmon man why do you always have to be right. You made a movie that a common man canot understand. You should be man enough and admit that you did not make No Smoking for mere mortals. Ok Khalid I understand is an idiot who should not be alowed to write even in his own notebook, but Taran. He is good, and if he did not give a favorable review to your movie you should not retort to “he in his seven lives would not have understood why someone would like to make a film like this”. Come to terms with that maybe not all the movie goers want to see your arrogance onscreen. Some stupids like me enjoy remakes of Hitch IE Partner, and for sure will go enjoys Sanwariya and Om Shanti Om, and come back home to watch Black Friday for the 200′dth time. Just remember “Bashing everybody back does not make you right”.
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Hi Anurag!
I saw No Smoking today… I happen to be your fan too… just like so many others and throughout the film I was glued to my seat. The theatre was half full and some people walked out after the interval. Towards the end most of the little crowd had become restless and someone shouted “Kab khatam hogi yaar”!! I even heard someone say “Not expected atleast from Anurag Kashyap yaar”!! And then on the screen we see John calling up another “Bakra” for the prayogshala!… audience reaction:- People walking out stop and start watching again till the song ends! Anurag… a good film is one that keeps the viewer completely engrossed…. I was completely engrossed!!! But I saw most of them weren’t! We all have great expectations from you that’s why maybe many people were dissapointed! Black Friday is an intense film yet it was a superhit! The masses wanted it to be released and when it was… it went housefull and got rave reviews!! No Smoking is an intense film too but why couldn’t it hold the attention of the masses?? The first half was superb… but somewhere in the second half it became loose! Somewhere in the 2nd half the masses got lost!! And I certainly do not blame them for this! The concept was fantastic! Anurag….if you being the Director of Black Friday take the responsibility of the film’s success then why shouldn’t you take the responsibility of No Smoking not being so successful! Your emotions and fight against a system is completely justified but why as a director you have to explain here or anywhere for that matter…what your film is about.. or what is the moral of the story? Your film should have done this job! I am your well-wisher Anurag just like millions of them. I am a die-hard fan of yours just like so many others and that’s why I have the courage to tell you that you have done a wonderful job…yet it could have been better!!
I wish you luck for all your forthcoming ventures!
Warm regards
Neo
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Great work!! keep it up Anurag!!
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hmm quite a lot of comments!!!!well this should sums up how your movie is gone work…. as they say.. “any type of publicity is a good publicity” if people are talking abt your movie its gone to fetch your producers their investments… ok coming back to your movie “No smoking” this is that type of a movie where no one leaves their seat till the movie ends.. so, its a credit to the director.. this movie will keep you hooked or say glued to your seat and makes you think.. think and just think.. think abt wht will happen next? wht happened? wht’s K thinking? this is wht exactly happened while i was watching your movie… every one seating around me were just thinking all the time (at time annoying as they kept talking all the time).
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Hi Anurag,
Check out this superlative review from the National Award winning critic – probably the only one which counts.
http://www.desipundit.com/baradwajrangan/2007/10/30/review-no-smoking/
Haven’t seen your film yet, but I suppose this is how I’d have felt.
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Hi Anurag,
I saw no smoking today and was completely blown away by it! The movie is brilliantly made, and is a new step in a completely different genre of cinema. You have taken it to a level, where only few dare to go , and you have emerged greater than ever! The idea of a movie, to relate to such a simple habit and then taking to a level where parallel dimensions are involved …i can only describe it as…FUCK BEHENCHOD…KYA PICTURE BANAYA HAI! Hats off sir…
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It’s off-topic. Yet, I couldn’t resist sharing it with all of you. Visit IndiaFM. You’ll spot an article named, “Saawariya is 2 hours 8 minutes of sheer magic.” It’s written by, no prizes for the guess, SKJ!! He gives anothe pre-release beyond-superlatives review to SLB’s film. When’s he gonaa stop?
He’s here:
http://indiafm.com/features/2007/10/30/3201/index.html
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You so called “critics” keep seeing “layers” upon “layers” of meaning in a narrative that is stretched thin to begin with. I guess as someone said earlier, you all are so enamored of a sometimes good director who is so “accessible,” that you have lost your sense of reality. India is anyway a land of idol worshippers. You cannot accept that your “God” has miscalculated on what will sell in an international market. That he was targeting an international cross-over audience is a given as far as I am concerned. I hope you give us a more honest movie next time around. Kudos on the attempt anyway!
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Anurag-
Can you post the script (if at all possible that is) someplace for those people who saw the movie but would like to read up on your vision to better understand what you tried to put across.
Looking at all the responses to your movie and all the press that it has generated (some good and a lot of it bad ) I’d say you have “arrived”.
George
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“Reviewers at rediff.com are catering to a wide audience (which you are not) – so to a certain extent they are serving a purpose of telling the audience that it will fall flat on them.” -raja banerjee (318)
The above is a really good point about Rediff and the like, which I hadn’t considered before.
“Wanna prove your calibre, bring out a Movie which works where you work. See Vishal Bhardwaj he is a perfect example.” – Adi (304)
Totally agree about Vishal B. He makes his own kinda films, in his own quiet way, without any fuss and has made a name for himself in the mainstream, and his films are now watched by a wide range of people. Others could take a leaf outta his book…
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the above george is not me !!!
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Heyyy AK!!! Just wanted to drop in and say you’re amazing. Didn’t exactly love No Smoking but I didn’t hate it either. Just certain issues which I’ve addressed in my blog
http://muviegeek.vox.com
A lot of negative things and a lot of good things that I wanted to address about u. Its stupid of me but if u do get time, plz do read it and yes, viewers do read reviews but of ppl like rajeev masand. taran adarsh simply sucks and caters perfectly to the uneducated masses appreciating humko tumse pyaar hai and giving kabhi alvida a higher rating than swades, dil chahta hai and rang de basanti.
khaled’s review is actually pure sarcasm and he’s attacked u in every possible way. Wonder whats between u ppl par chuthiyo ki baaton ka kya bura maanna…
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i love the way you are straight-forward in your views (which i can’t be, but will surely try). after reading your arguements, i want to tell that i wanted to see the movie, but haven’t gone till now(which i regret), but i will definately watch the movie. it is surely a different subject. if people have not understood it, then i must see the movie because i don’t like normal movies. i also have a fascination for dark cinema like you, though on a very small extent. this makes your films watchable and sets them and you apart from others. all said and done, i will definately watch the film and let you know my views.
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Would just like to add that though I admire Vishal, I don’t think others should BE like him, but just try to strike a balance, or find their own kinda niche or groove within the filmi duniya as he has done (without compromising too much). Otherwise be as you are – especially you Anurag, you are truly one of a kind and besides, it’s your outspokenness, frankness and non-conformity (not to mention passion for and knowledge of cinema) which have won you your admirers, even more so than your films. So don’t ever change!
Btw! Enjoyed your Rediff Q&A sesh:
http://in.rediff.com/movies/2007/oct/30anurag.htm
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“i love the way you are straight-forward in your views”
I second that!
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I have to post what I understood about the movie…………..
Why ? Did you ask me why bloody one more review??
Yeah I’ll answer your question.
One,because I am unable to work in my office for the past two days,Two,like all other people I need to vent out and Three because it is not a review,it is a mere expression of thought.
I initially wanted to post this at Raja’s(Anurag’s main lead in Gulal) second post, wanted to ask him some questions but unfortunately the post was not there anymore and hence posting it here.
For a starter since many of the people who post something here are software programmers I start off like this:-
for(int i=0;i
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I’m going to see it again tommorow.
For the 3rd time!!!
The more I think of it, the more I love it!
Well done Anurag!!!
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I think I lost the grip over the proceedings in the last 15 mts
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Dear Anurag
I just loved your most underrated thriller KAUN I loved the way you have written the film and created the overall atmosphere of that mysterious spinechiller.
Black Friday was great, but I think NO SMOKING suffered from the same problem as GAJA GAMINI of MF HUSSAIN, both films were very abstract and diffiult to comprehend for a person with a normal IQ or difficult to tolerate for an impatient viewer.
Anurag, I am really amazed at the way u reacted towards Khaild Mohmed, u should realise that u r notonly the onle. Just read his reviews, he teared apart almost every film and filmmaker so brutally, 95 out of 100 films he gave extremly unprofessional and unacceptable reviews that should not be actually called reviews…and at the same time made retard films like silsilay, fiza and especially TEHZEB where the viewer is taken for granted as why Urmila started dancing onscreen (Mehrbaan) while actually her Mother Shabana azmi is sining the song on screen…I mean who is perceiving Urmila dancing on the screen??? ditto to the Namrita Shrodkar song (Sazab aisa) who was perceiving her singing and dancing in his/her thoughts on various sets and dresses ????? Also how an abnormal Dia Mirza could wear so perfect matching lipstick, neat and perfectdressing with look more perfect the a normal person..and on top of that how Urmla can NOT speak about her mis understaning from her mother till getting so mature and after so many years?????
Anyways you should not beahved and wrote all that for anyone ..Its not at all professional, it is only hurting your fans , damaging your image and career.
Try to be positive, diplomatic and friendly with people around you. Otherwise this extreme attitude will destroy a genius like you. I really mean it.
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Just saw No Smoking I must it was an awesome movie, great job Anurag. I loved the dark sense of humor, the concept, the acting basically everything about the movie rocked. I’ll watch it again soon. Cant wait for your next collaboration with John, just read about it on Mid-day. All the best!!
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Please don’t stop making your style of movies. Taran Adarsh gave Dhamaal, No Entry, Masti, Heyy Baby glowing reviews … movies which were incredibly tasteless and like tap water — easy to access, and easier to digest.
What you have made is special — its VSOP whiskey at its best — difficult to digest, but in its own presidental league … a niche pleasure.
Your fans will be dissapointed if you give up and make trash like Tara Rum Pum Pum.
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after reading and going through the reviews in all the newspaper, i can only say, that all these critics having nothing to do with your film or you…its their own level of understanding which doesn’t allow them to stand & intake the fact that such movie does hold some meaning.
No need of answering or explaining them. One can only say his or her likes or dislikes but holds no right to judge any person or any artwork. No need to prove when they can’t even tell why they didn’t like it.
see u soon.
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Very good attempt but I do think you have bitten off more than you can chew, Anurag. I enjoyed the movie but I did feel dissatified for a couple of reasons.
One, your protagonist came across as someone whose reactions to social tyranny are mostly knee jerk. It’s the arrogance of ignorance…the fearlessness of youth that has no clue what is out there. It’s no surprise he gets sucked into the system.
Second, while the visualisation was excellent, the film-making style was wavering throughout the movie. The wrap-up was terrible. I felt the movie should have ended at the point where the protagonist starts peddling the prayogshala.
Looking forward to your next.
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Last night, a red light caught my eye in a train car. Below the light was number 6066 — just like on K’s shirt.
The passengers on either side wore earpieces connected to iPods, and the guy to my right was listening to something Indian. Everyone in view wore earpieces connected to phones or iPods.
Late this morning, not coincidentally, I dreamed that a bunch of changes were being made against my will, and all I could do was ask why. It kept making me angrier, but the only way it stopped was a friend rang my telephone.
I must say, No Smoking is a 360-degree experience.
I’m still turning over Anurag’s comment that NS is about the area between morality and independence. I suspect that AK is still working out that definition, too — that No Smoking sets up the predicament but does not give the resolution.
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Great Movie AK!!
And it was humorous too … but the thought bubbles do not make much sense bcoz the acting was consistent and pretty understandable. Loved the names of all characters in NS specially “guru ghantal baba”. Wonder how many guru ghantals we see in day to day life.
My only small crib is that first half should have been more tight and a bit pacy … second half rocks!!
Will love to see u with all ur fingers in place in the future though u can bargain on hearing device
Great going !!
Keep it up.
AmitP
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Hi..I’m not going to seat here and say I got everything in the movie, but tell you what it forces you to think. I guess average Indian movie goer is not ready for that. I can feel why you are angry, you are not angry at them trashing their movie, you are angry at not giving a movie a chance. Critics in india act as they are elite, and yet they are dumb as hell. They are critics, they are suppose to know movie making more than an average movie goer. If they come out and say they don’t get the movie is simply irresponsible on their part, to say they are not doing their job. They have a power in writing with their pens, they should have done little research if they didn’t understand it. May be none of the critics have studied about hitler, concentration camps, and gas chambers in their history lessons. Maybe they never learned about abstraction of ideas in movies. This movie was never about not smoking. This movie was about freedom of smoking. There are lot of references to hitler, and it wasn’t done for fun. Hitler wanted a flawless race of man, and he wanted to extinguish whatever he called a defect to his perfect society. Whatever he thought unacceptable, but putting them to gas chambers, thus the gas chamber in the movie. Paresh’s character showed as friend of hitler, In K’s society, smoking was unacceptable, and first they ask you nicely, if you don’t they take away your rights, your freedom of speech, then if you don’t conform they they just put you to gas chamber. So there were five chances given to K in the movies. Losing your indivual self is graduate process,once you conform to norms of society you truely loose your self your soul…as shown in the movie. Ralph Waldo Emerson and transdentalism…social norms and social conformity of one is nothing but killing of self for society. Movie says smoke, if that is what defying the norms of society means, because when you defy the society that is when you find your true self and true soul…Mr. Kashyap..In my opinion that is what I received from your movie, and i can see why you are mad at the critics aren’t critics suppose to much smarter than the avg movie goer, thats why movie festivals across the globes, and awards such Oscars are reverred because of the jury members consisted of intellects who not just understand the art of movies but they also understand and have knowledge of literature, social studies, public policy and history. In true sense, be an intellectual, you have to be an expert to judge something. I mean common people you have power, just don’t get off the hook by saying I didn’t understand this movie, then don’t demand for something different if you don’t have an appetite for it, don’t call your selves scholars, if you can’t comprehend beyond elementary skills of task you are taking at hand. Write responsibly. I think Mr. K…don’t conform to the critics…being different, going against the tide will help you find your true self, and soul. don’t let it burn in the gas chambers of phony bollywood practices, make what you want..people will call you crazy, overtime they will call you a legend..just hope they don’t start praying in your name after you pass away, as they did with Guru Dutts, Kishore Kumar’s acting…they were all different, now they are idols. Yeh Duniya mil bhi jaaye to kya hai…yeh Dogli Duniya..HAHA i will sign off. I completely got your movie, even if I didn’t atleast i made my own sense out of it…HAHA
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Anurag, wow, after 300 + comments, there’s probably not a whole lot left to say…but you my friend, are an inspiration to those who feel any regret in not doing the ’sensible’ thing in life and going with their passion……I haven’t even seen your films but the sheer conviction in your ideals is infectious, to say the least.
However, it must not feel like such an uphill struggle anymore as you seem to have far, far more supporters than Howard Roark could ever hope for….
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There were just two of us in the whole theater and we so totally loved the movie
Choosing ‘No Smoking’ as a theme so the censor cant say a thing and conveying what you wanted gives them such a kick in the ass!
Awesome dialogues,cinematography and music and movie
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Hey Anurag .. I havn’t seen NoSmoking as yet but I’ve seen BF..if we’ve half a dozen film makers like you, we wouldn’t need to look towards Europe and US for quality stuff..
Regarding the reviews well–
recently Rediff.com gave 4 *s to Partner!
I think Khalid must have given up reviewing films
long way back,( at least after making Fizaa)
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anurag,
I came to this post from blogbharti’s link, which gave an excerpt where you asked KM to retire; calling him a chutiye (shouldn’t it be chutiyaa?, anyways…). I’m no fan of KM, but I’m not sure what you’re trying to achieve. Of course critics reviews can be criticized, or even should be, but personal attacks/name calling isn’t really going to help anyone, is it? You’re an angry man, and your anger is your prerogative, but channeling that anger in film is one thing and badmouthing people is another. As for the film, these extreme reactions have convinced me to watch it
.
regards,
asuph
[The comments policy of the site is ironic:
# The following kinds of comments are troll capped, blocked and/or commenter's identity
reported publicly
Verbal abuse, personal attacks, hate statements
# Spam, trolls, advertising
One would assume the post itself should also have similar standards of decorum?
]
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Anurag,
just one question… Why do you have to put us -the viewers- to such a painful ordeal for something between you and film industry (read the censors, khalid mohds etc. etc.)? Just because you have a medium, you cannot make use of it to settle your personal vendetta. The kind of freedom which you want and which you are trying to achieve thorugh your character K in the movie, also has great respnsiblity attached to it. I am aware of your potential and thats what made me comment like this on your blog, otherwise I have seen more senseless movies thatn yours. Just try to be more responsible and accountable next time.
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Hi.
I went to watch No Smoking only after reading your interview. And of course, because of the amazing success [it is relative, isn't it?] of BLACK FRIDAY.
I just wanted to tell you, that I never thought that Bolloywood could make a movie like NO SMOKING. You have plesantly surprised me and I am really glad that you did. It is an awesome movie. One of the best movies I have watched in Bollywood. Had Satyajit Ray been alive today he would have smiled. We have achived a milestone with NO SMOKING, the genre, the direction, the cinematography, and above all, the brave effort that you put in.
Amazing work.Thumbs up.
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your article reads like an interpretation of characters from Fountainhead. your Baba Bengali increasingly reads like the villian Ellsworth Toohey and the story sound sounds Toohey’s mission in turning the Roark’s of the world into Peter Keatings.
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Hi Anurag,
‘No smoking’ has evolved itself as bizzare fragments of the character
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[-o< ANURAG plz read this [-o<
hi ANURAG i m ur crazy fan & how i bcame ur fan not after watching Blackfriday like everybody, i bcame ur fan after seeing ur interviews in Rajiv Masand's-(where u told d film that changed ur life 'THE BICYCLE THIEF' & u came to Mumbai) & Mayank's show b4 watching Blackfriday. so i m not ur regular fan im ur crazy fan i just see ur views, thoughts, take on films just like me, im passionate about more effective films than nonsense entertainment where directors don't have any reason 4 what they have done in d film.i hate films like 'koi mil gaya' & 'krishh' coz they r going behind hollywood & saying them that "ya u make original we'll copy them". films in India should not b like this, films should inspire young talents & aspiring filmmakers ur film 'NO SMOKING' is just that it is inspiring to young filmmakers like me.
i don't understand why anybody didn't understand 'NO SMOKING' :-?
if 'Harry potter' can b understood by small childrens & even adults liked it than what's d problem with 'NO SMOKING'.
harry potter was a film on fantasies of a small boy which childrens understood & NO SMOKING is a film on fantasies of a chain smoker which adults didn't understand =)). ILLITERATE DUMBS r d ones who didn't understand no smoking.
i loved d film not just bcoz of ANURAG ^:)^
but it is a brave film which inspires young filmmakers, a kind of film which is never made in India; when will d change happen this is d time for change.
there were few things in d film like Ayesha Takia's acting was bad in many scenes, then d scene in d start of d film where guests come in K's home there if u had taken some good actors it would have been better
other than that d film had superb story telling & those connections between K dreaming Siberia, his brother speaking german, his mother german translator & Baba bangali a friend of Hitler.
I would say that keep making films that inspire young filmmakers - which can teach us something & also make films for those dumb illiterates who don't want to see intelligent films in India they want d same nonsense films.
plzz do tell me how do u like my views [-o< & by d way d actor who was standing beside baba bangali - Sarfaraz khan i know him on orkut.
KEEP MAKING FILMS WITH D SAME PASSION, WAITING FOR UR NEXT DEV D.
^:)^^:)^^:)^^:)^^:)^
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Everyone keeps saying that NS was too abstract for domestic Indian audiences. Does that then mean it would do better outside of India? Not according to these figures (which would at least make RGV feel a bit better about Aag if nobody else):
http://www.indiafm.com/trade/overseas_boxoffice/index.html
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Congrats! You have exceeded even Ram Gopal Varma -
http://www.indiafm.com/trade/overseas_boxoffice/index.html
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“No Smoking” is awesome. The battle for control of a man’s soul always makes for disturbing viewing – this is a dark film, with a brooding and often chilling quality about it. Do we ultimately have to give up our inviduality (in K’s case reflected through his stubborn and defiant act of chain smoking) and conform to society’s dictates in order to be “accepted”, to be peaceful & content? Do we have to kill a part of ourselves in order to do so? These are some of the question asked in the film. Anurag Kashyap is a brilliant director. I thought John was fabulous in the film – a very sensitive performance. And what’s happening to Anurag now is what happened to “K” – he is being condemned for being different, he is being pushed into submission and made to apologize for being who he is!! That last look on John’s face when K’s soul is going up in flames – the agony, the despair, those must be what Anurag is feeling right now.
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have you tried comprehending mullholland drive
especially the repeating characters.i’ve read some 100 pages on it and am yet to come to a single conclusion abt the film.now you come up with no smoking……..i so wished i cud watch the film but now i’m scared i might take it too personally.
But the problem with making suh films is ppl cant resonate at some 100 instances and concurr with you,its expecting too much.you would not be able to do so watching your own film if you did not make it.ITS a DVD film for a college student with enough time to poder over life…..for others they just dont have the time ,acumen and conditioning to assimilate succha a movie, assuming it all makes sense.
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Anurag,
Lets face it, Indian audiences don
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Hey Anurag.. for millions who dint like your film there are thousands whi liked it and over a period of time they will be millions who will like .. but what will hurt is if you too back to the fourmale of candy floss movies.. just carry on… soon you will have your audience !!
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@Niren
As far as ur name suggests u seem Indian. So does Anuraag. So basically we all collectively make-up ‘Indian Audience’!!
If such absurdity rocks for u, i recommend u ‘Jaani Dushman’, ‘Abhay’. Just because they were not made by a talented-intelligent guy, they r bad movies?
‘Split Wide Open’ was disturbing.. to some extent even ‘Page 3′.But i could sit through them with awe. ‘NS’ has new story no doubt, different widout a shadow. But the movie was unbearable.. Collection of weird scenes.
Even if u still insist, next time do not release near my home!
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hey anurag!
a memorable film!
after watching manorama and johnny gaddar i was very happy that this year there were two films that i enjoyed in a multiplex and could recommend to friends.( there are hundereds you can enjoy on dvd)
now its a trilogy with ‘no smoking’!
what can i say..I laughed out loud and enjoyed it.
if was funny. i thought of kusturica, kubrick and kafka…and its still very kashyap !
so much is already written in this blog..the interaction is amazing!
looking forward to your next.
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Just finished watching NO SMOKING and was riveted by the way space and time was handled in the film, the colors, the frames, and surprisingly John Abraham.
The story was great, though the first part went past really fast, in terms of the motivation of the characters and seemed very predictable , the order of the events that is. .
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HI ANURAG,
BRAVE ATTEMPT MAN!CAN’T BELIEVE A FILM SO RADICALLY DIFFERENT & SUBVERSIVE GOT MADE IN MADE IN BOLLYWOOD.KUDOS TO KUMAR MANGAT & VISHAL ALSO!.MAYBE U’LL’VE STARTED A NEW GENRE UNTO ITSELF.ITS ABOUT TIME FILMS LIKE THIS WERE MADE HERE.SOMEWHERE DAVID LYNCH IS SMILING & GIVING U A THUMBS UP.INDIAN REVIEWERS FOR THE MOST PART R OUT OF WORK JOURNALIST WHO’VE NO KNOWLEDGE OF CINEMA.
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* Anurag,I never expected someone to attempt such a movie,& that too in India…It was one of the gr8est experience I ever had….film ko ‘chabaa chabaa’ ke khaa gayaa mein…mazaa aa gayaa…i cant get it out of my mind.
* THose who say second half was boring,I beg to differ,it was the soul of the movie.
* I didnt like Ayesha Takia in the movie.
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“*I didnt like Ayesha Takia in the movie.”
Glad you said that Hetu, cos I have a feeling that I’m not gonna like her in it either, though it would be nice to be wrong. She just seems an odd choice.
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I think Ayesha Takia was a good choice because you can see why K would be motivated to compromise in order to keep her.
The more I think about it, the more it seems to me that compromising, for some people, means trading in a piece of their souls in order to get what they want. They never feel whole again.
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Glad you said that about Ayesha, Hetu, cos I have a feeling that I’m not gonna like her in it either, though it would be nice to be wrong. She just seems an odd choice.
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Aaaaaargh! What’s with PFC’s comments today? Can an admin pls delete the duplicate comment.
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NO SMOKING was a completely unique experience for me becoz this was the first time i felt i was watching a western classic in hindi!the first sequence was so interesting and amazing,i knew it would take me into another world.
before watching it i had heard so much about it especially the negative reviews. after watching NS i feel i am atleast more intelligent than the taran adarshes and karan johars who could not even understand the film.
the film is multi-layered and uses a lot of metaphors and symbols.its a kind of film which should be included in a film appreciation course.
anurag i love your guts and am proud that indian cinema has film makers like u.thanks for being a responsible film maker and showing us what a good film should be like.
keep up the great work!
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Awesome! never thought anything like this would come out of bollywood (though i am a big supporter of desi movies :D )
Have been listening to ‘Kash laga…’ and ‘jab bhi cigarette…’ for last 3 hrs over and over :D
Brave attempt indeed!
Perfect casting and brilliant direction.
I am yet to make sure if I understand all parts of the movie well. Will watch it again
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Nice insights Evelyn. And I do hope I’ll like Ayesha in NS.
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Hi Anurag,
Could you please take some time to answer my queries:
1. I found the movie to be about Freedom and the struggle to safeguard it. If that is the case, smoking was just a simile of a man’s freedom of choice. Isn’t it? My question is, why did you choose smoking as the example?
2. Does Baba Bangali stand for the censor board/filmdom which dictates/frustrates a person’s right of expression or the right of freedom and does smoking stand for Your experience with Paanch and your other movies?
3. What is behind K/Abbas referring people to Baba Bangali and getting their chopped fingers back?
Hope you do find the time to reply.
Most importantly, don’t give up on us, the cine-goers. There are many who loved the film, including yours truly.
I hope you keep the fire alive and you keep finding producers.
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hey anurag,
I loved Black Friday, but I am passionate about ‘No Smoking’
And ya Critics just speak, they don’t make movies
and khalid mohammad??
did u see tehzeeb?
ha ha ha
Very rightly said “saala chutiya”
I’VE ALSO made a short film/video “DARE TO SMOKE?” with an almost similar concept of No Smoking and much before,
made it in May,2007.
See it at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQ3mnCygFwA
and please comment on it
I’m waiting 4 ur comment
U people hav to support aspiring film makers like me
Would love to get trained under u
also seen johnny gaddar, grrr8 movie
and when films like this flop, it hurts
hope that No Smoking does well
Anyways, I’ll giv it 4.5 out of 5
jus joking
reviews don’t matter
not at all
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and if u don’t read my comment posted below this,
u’ll surely miss something
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For those dismayed by the mainstream media’s negative reviews to the movie, here are two reviews to cheer. Both by highly respected movie critics.
LINK 1
LINK 2
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One can only extrapolate the following from the post:
1. Everyone who likes “No Smoking” has been fair to Anurag.
2. Everyone who thought it was a lousy film (And of course that includes the audience) is an imbecile who doesn’t know how Kafka (Is this spelling right?) is spelt
3. The basic purpose of this site is to help Anurag let off steam. Was that the vision behind forming PFC? If it was, then it is definitely being realised.
Black Friday is a great film. No Smoking sucked big time and Paanch is one of the lousiest crime/heist film I have ever seen. But obviously, none of us have a right to have any opinion (other than positive) on any of Anurag’s work. Since irrespective of what one thinks of a film, all of us have to bow down to his Anuragness (else we are being biased and unfair).
No problem with saying that so and so is an idiot but it should have been done before the film’s release. But then what if No Smoking received 6 out of 5 stars this time round? What if it collected 200 crores at the Box office? Of course … none of these thoughts crossed the mind. Finally cinema was supposed to be revolutionised with No Smoking (Didn’t all watered down versions of the “The Game” become classics?)
Anurag never went about shouting hoarse that the critics (who gave him 4-5 stars after Black Friday) were actually imbeciles after Black Friday’s’ release. He should have actually issued a statement immediately (like he does all the time) (“Well, though Khaleed, Nikhat, Taran, Mayank like my film, I think all of them are idiots who do not understand cinema at all”)
After reading this post, I really did lose all respect for a filmmaker who I think has a lot of potential … Black Friday proved that!
But then not everyone wants to be known only for their work.
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Thanks, night. I was about to give up because it felt a bit like talking into the wind. Hard to tell if anyone’s listening.
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earthy, clearly you are a PFC virgin so you don’t know what this site is about. many of our own authors have not liked the film and others have. seeing as how you claim to know the “basic purpose” of this site, it shows how little you really do know. may we suggest you stop wasting your time here? or may we suggest you read the countless other posts by other authors that are or are not related to no smoking? maybe we can even suggest you let off your own steam by submitting a worthy article via PFC iView. but then you claim to know the vision behind PFC, so maybe you already knew all those things. if you’re commenting here, you’re a part of PFC just as much as we all are. there is no anurag bandwagon as you claim. some people like him, some like his films, some don’t. oh but wait.. you already knew that, seeing as how you’ve hit the bullseye with PFC’s vision..
talk about anurag’s film, bash it all you want if you don’t like it.. don’t become another khalid mohammed. one is enough.
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EARTHY anurag did criticise them after good reviews of black friday. read his black friday introspection post
and he personally put across to khalid that he gave 4 stars to black friday because he was a muslim.
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Anurag,
Loved No Smoking..been a week now since I watched it and still in awe..will watch it again..hoping for many more such strikingly fresh and good movies from you..
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well this post is for anurag…i hope he reads it…sir i have been a true fan of your’s since ’satya’…and many aspiring film makers like me,have started idolizing you in a way…just because of the fact that you dont come from a family who has been doing it since ages…and that you are one of them who wants to change the face of indian cinema for ever…my wishes are always with you.
but i would like to say…i saw ‘no smoking’recently…no i was not expecting a commercial film out of it…no i am not giving you a review…you did what you wanted to…and no one can stop you for that.and no…i am not taking revenge like taran and khalid…but as a viewer and an aspiring film maker…i just want to ask you…how much a diffrence it would have made to you…if you would have simplified the film a little…so that more people could have understood it…and bussiness wise it would have done a little better…its important for a film to make money…aint it???with all due respect to u…you are just complicating things for people like us…now producers will think twice to work with new directors and will think thrice to invest money in bold subjects like these…as u said for anil kapoor once ‘that u should be a bit more responsible’…but i still respect you for the fact that you still did this.and i wish all the luck for your upcomin ventures…and i hope you reach a larger audience with ‘gulal’.
coz we all are trying to change things…make better movies then ever…to change the stereotype indian audience who likes song and dance…and to do that…its important for more and more people to watch our films.empty cinema halls dont do any good.and yeah…no smoking was quite trippy.cheers.
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:d/fooock:d/
thiz iz like fountainhead………the news paper which talk abt celian jatiely’s dog….dose even hv negative news abt “no smoking”….
read “fountain head!”
watch “no smoking”
loved it second time!
will go again!
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Sir,
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Sir,
I dont understand the concept of what we call mainstream cinema or parellel cinema. I understand every film-maker has an idea which he portrays on the celluloid. As you rightly said no one would try to make a black friday or a no smoking or a paanch. The understanding that the so-called main stream film makers have is something kind of an illusion, which they want to serve to their audience. They want the audience to believe that idea.
What you have tried is commendable, i would say the piece of a genius in black friday. We have seen Pawan Malhotra before as well. But for me his Tiger is one of the better roles i have seen. So its the filmamker at the end of the day, who is able to convince his actors about his idea. But sadly, we have very less number who can change the attitude of the masses.
Keep making such gems.
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Hi Anurag,
To begin with I have nt seen No Smoking yet. But have liked and enjoyed your work in Black Friday. I am happy that there is at least one arrogant bastard in this ugly world of cinema (Bollywood). I wish you all the very best for u forthcoming projects and keep up the good work. Be what u are and never give up ur arrogance when it comes to making meaningful cinema. See you
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Anurag,
Great movie. There were a total of 4 people in the theatre which I actually think is a good thing otherwise the movie would lose it’s cult status :-)
The nitwits who run the theatre really broke the flow of the movie by having an outrageously long intermission during which I was subjected to trailers of nauseous Bollywood crap such as ‘Om Crappy Om’ and ‘Dulhaniya” (or wait …is it Saawariya ? they all sound the same :-))’
It’s always fun to indulge in movie trivia, so here are my initial observations. Other astute movie watchers in this very long thread may already have made similar observations, so I apologize for any repetitions.
* K’s one-lunged brother (or is it step-brother ?) is called J (J comes before K, but in the movie, J is probably younger than K)
* Some level of similarity between the experiences of K (from the movie) and Josef K. from Kafka’s Trial. Both characters go through unreal experiences that they can’t understand.
* What’s with the Annie/Anjali weirdness (other than being reminiscent of David’s Julie/Sofia confusion in Vanilla Sky)
* Some resemblance to a Stephen King story (Quitter’s Inc.)
* K’s wife watches Nazi gas chamber archival footage before breakfast — Heh heh .. nice touch.
* Underworld in the movie a reference to Hades ?
* Do you smoke after sex ? I didn’t check …heh heh …
* The one rupee reference …is that related to leaving pennies over the eyes in Greek myth to pay the ferryman to take the body (soul ?) across River Styx to Hades ?
* I got a serious deja-vu when watching the detectives interrogate K in a cell. Reminded me of the conversations between Kurt Russel and Tom Cruise in Vanilla Sky.
* Who’s the guy with the dark shades (Ram, Shyam, Balram) in the movie ? At some point, I think he’s referred to as the ‘Bulletin’. Reminds me of the ‘Tech Support’ guy in Vanilla Sky.
* I take it the ending is a depressing one, because K succumbs to society by relinquishing his soul. I like this because I hate happy endings!
* I love the mysterious visiting card concept. ‘Kalkatta Karpets’ like concepts in other movies I can think of are ‘Consumer Recreation Services’ or CRS in ‘The Game’, ‘Fleur de Lys’ in LA Confidential, ‘Life Extensions (LE)’ in Vanilla Sky.
* I think the best scene in the movie is K’s descent into the underworld (the first time he goes to Kalkatta Karpets or KK). Brilliant shit!
* Nice hi-tech touch @ KK with the scanner.
* The midget is reminiscent of the midget from the show Twin Peaks.
No Smoking is awesome! Need to watch it again.
No Smoking is awesome! Need to watch it again.
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Hi Anurag!
Saw the film yesterday. Beautiful story, excellent background score and mind blowing sound design. Loved John in the film.
3 cheers to u!
“Beedi jalaile ke is vishal desh mein cigar ka gulzar” :D ha ha ha
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Hey Anurag,
I saw No Smoking yesterday and loved it! Congrats on such a brilliant effort. I feel that only you have the sensibility to make such a film in India. Would you put No Smoking in the film-noir genre? If so it would be the first noir film to come out of India, right? Please correct me if I’m wrong:)
I really liked the score and sound design for the film. Hitesh Sonik has done a tremendous job. You manage to create such a delightfully eerie and unsettling mood with the music and sound design…kudos!
I’m a music composer from Nagpur and have done short films and documentaries. You might remember a silent black & white short film called “Kalakaar” starring Rajit Kapur and directed by Tejas Deoskar. I composed the music for that film. I’d very much like to meet you, sir.
Again hearty congratulations on a brilliant film!
Regards,
Susmit
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When I read Kafka I was originally very sceptical, you know another name in the minds of pedantic pretentious people, I began reading the Trial and kept reading wondering what to make of it, and for some reason felt a sadistic pleasure in not being told everything in being left in the dark to create and recreate my own trial in my own head for myself. No Smoking is definitely not the best film of the century but it is something better than I’ve seen for a very long time within this cinematic circuit. And I liked the enigma, the ambiguity and the reality of it! Anurag, I’d just like to say you have the balls to do what very few would and you do a great job of it!
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I am a normal audience and watch movies every Friday. I was dying to see No Smoking
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@Dileep
I think this one is a good review here:
Try that
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@Dileep
I think this one is a good review here: http://hollywoodbitchslap.com/review.php?movie=16817&reviewer=398
Try that
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Hey Anurag,
i am pretty sure you wont be paying any special attention to my message when you have hundreds of other to read and they maybe be better written than mine.But I dont care weather you read this or not, because thats not my job.
Anyway, I saw your film today. Never saw your Black Friday, dint get a chance…but thats not what I want to write about. You are already very talented in my mind with movies like satya and specially shool(except the ending) in your credits.
About this movie No Smoking theirs lot to say. I read couple of your blogs in the last few weeks and then followed the reviews and articles about the movie. I too am into films and wanted to see how your movie is being received by the audience and the critics. I read few reviews on rotten tomatoes website and frankly felt a little jealous when one critic wrote that “if ever india makes a crossover film for the western audience, Anurag Kashyap is going to be behind it”…would have sold my soul for peanuts for someone to write something like that for me. Well theirs nothing wrong in dreaming, right?
Then I read plenty of reviews from our own desi film critics and how they played down the movie and how they thought it is bad in every aspect. I could not question their opinion because I still dint get a chance to see it by then. Specially the response from the Public(as we love calling the audience in India) made me think that it might really be a bad movie. But still I doubted.
Then it was the case of your arrogance. You coming across in your blogs as a very self indulged person, writing critics are stupid and that it is a good movie and all. Again I thought you have a bad case of an inflated ego. Maybe everyone is right,its just a stupid badly scripted movie.still had doubts.
I saw it today. Let me start with this.If you have an ego, you have it for the right reasons.
I hate those assholes who say that the movie is complicated and nothing could be understood. Its a well made movie. I dont know shit about Kafka, I dont know shit about stephen king’s novel and I dont give a shit to cat’s eye or whatever the fuck that is.For me its a movie with numerous interpretation, but mind you when I say that each interpretation is not much different from the other.Its like instead of doing A+B, you can do B+A. I wont say I was dancing with enjoyment after seeing it,but it was my time’s worth, my money’s worth and specially my brain’s worth.
You did a good job, people who say john was wooden ,i think they know nothing about direction and acting. I think that guy acted brilliantly, i watched him in water before this, and I think he has gained miles after that. He was very believable here, I doubted his performance in Water but not here.Hats off ,no wait, you need an applause for bringing out that performance from him.
It was a good story, well crafted. People expect too much out of movies and its fine but at the same time they want it to easy and understandable. I mean it would be great if you could sit down and tell everyone what each scene meant but that is stupid.I dont think any director needs to do that because then it means the movie was flawed.When directors do that in their DVD releases, its for the diehard audience which want to buy the dvd and want to hear more about their favorite movie. I would seriously suggest you, not to tell people ” the coin had this significance or why K was at a certain place”…if they dont get it, let them think, if they still dont get it, let them discuss among friends , if they still dont get it, let them buy the DVD and watch every scene closely and if they still dont get it….they should probably but a bullet in their head,because their’s no use moving around with so much dead meat on one’s head.
Anurag, you did a fine job and I am happy that you are proud to admit that, people take it as arrogance, I take it as an artist’s pride for his work. You dont copy, you dont cheat and you are a fine artist, you have every right to be proud of this movie. I know this movie would have been a surprise hit in US if it was made their. I watched Donnie Darko couple of weeks back and it seemed more complicated to me then your movie.
wont write anything else,but I hope if you do read this, it makes you happy. I hate indian audience, they are not appreciative. we love to pull people down, specially who want to do something different. Watched a saif movie last year, it was an independent production where he played a parsi n all, dint like it, but that movie got praised to heaven by the critcs. A movie like veer zaraa or rang de basanti get so highly praised, when they are full of mistakes. In my view Rang de was a crap and very poorly directed movie. Our audience is amateur, we love living in a false bubble. “Our country is the best, our movies are the best, everything n everything is best”….this kind of thinking only hampers our growth and it has.
what the fuck, i am writing more then i should now,anyway good luck with your adventures, would be planning my own movie next month,would try to give it my best shot. Hopefully someday i would have the chance to sit down and share a cigarette with you, till then dont stop smoking!
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Seems like receiving hate mail, if you express an opinion, is almost a given on this site.
It is common knowledge that Anurag has a habit of abusing and trashing people’s views publicly. Maybe he gets some kind of an high out of that or maybe he is just that kind of a person. But that is why it is surprising to find so much angst if most people have not liked his film. The film got released, has bombed commercially and not been appreciated critically. Shouldn’t one learn to take that in stride?
Johnny Gaddaar and Manorama bombed too but don’t remember reading too many negative reviews from the press or the limited audience that saw it. That is a good test of whether a good film has bombed. The reaction is the exact opposite with No Smoking.
I am still not clear what a fair opinion of No Smoking is supposed to be. Everyone is entitled to his/her opinion on a film. Unfortunately, I am not an Anurag psychopant. I am an audience who paid money to see the film expecting the quality that Black Friday had.And for me it definitely sucked big time. It was clearly inspired from “The Game” and trying to unsuccessfully imbibe the new wave format.
But then who will tell K? No one tells K what to do … even if he does it with somebody else’s money.
Will definitely take advice of wasting less time on this site. Thanks.
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Hi ANURAG,
I am an architect/designer/researcher and also a theatre wala n MOST IMPORTABT film buff….ANYWAYS.
at last No smoking is out and i write this comment after lighting a cigerrete.
the movie is interesting and as lot of the comments say dark.the theate had 5 people. In the interval one of the guys just came upto me and asked for a light .he had come alone to see the film. he was at fame andheri to see the film but the show got cancelled.(sad because people dont understant good cinema) SO THE THEATRE HALLS GO EMPTY.
THIS GUY THEN SPOKE ABOUT SIMILARITY WITH A FILM MOKSHA. which i was not that comfortable.anyways that was the scene at chandan.
THen after the film we went to our adda AT JUHU , IT IS A ZUNKA BHAKAR KENDRA, WE CALL IT OUR CHAI WALA , where we meet discuss , gossip n have a good time , mostly all architects/designers/researchers/urban planners etc…..
We had some interesting discussion on the film regarding the populis coulture to surrealistic cinema to alternative and arrogant cinema to empty houses and KAFKA….N ALL.
I think having a huge population of people smoking its still strange why people havent gone to see it…
Specially being a smoker one can really relate to it much more and off course with it is a little sensitive/intelligent mind to get through the film.
SO THEN THIS BECOMES INTELLIGENT FILM left open ended with a lot of collages which can become different films it self.
The first halF IS QUICK N HAS A GREAT FLOW..
I THINK THE SECOND HALF COULD HAVE BEEN TRIMMED A LITTLE BIT.. MAY BE THE FILM ENDS AT CIGERETTE SHASTRA….because things are very clear there.
Its again interesting AFTER panch n black friday to see no smoking is interesting movie making.
The other thing we were discussing about was that could the film be more interactive with the audience or may thats not important.
The city of mumbai is captured beautifully n may the last time we see DHARAVI LIKE THIS NOTHER PLACES BBEFORE mUMBAI BECOMES SHANGHAI.may be thats an interesting idea for a film.
We are planning to do a film on mumbai, just putting ideas together. Its based on the day to day activities linked to the transportation in mumbai.
Thats it. KEEP GNG , GREAT GUNS.
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hey! loved the film! sheer imagination….lots of trips! empty theatre….just me n my gang of frinds…who watch movies with me cos’ they know it’l be worth and i proved to be right again! i loved it…the only thing that could have been better is john and no smoking minus ayesha! trippy!
from one trip that i was in….when i entered the movie hall….i travelled to another and kept travelling! keep up! love your work!
yeah…but il still like to have a shot….i just wanna check…if you are more trippy or i am….with all respect!
Paanch is what i have been hunting for a long time….i suar im ready to indulge in its piracy….from the reciews that i have heard about it!
and for khallid mohammad and all those: if you obey all the rules…..you miss all the fun!
have fun anurag!
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hey…i forgot to tell you….im sorry! manali’s upp! the first thing that i mentioned to everybody when i saw the movie was ” brilliant piece of abstract work”….! loved it!
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Anurag,
Hey that begining lines by plate, socrates & sinatra ..ain’t its there in some other movie too..please tell ..otherwise i would go mad thinking?
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well indian audience are not ready for such films n never will. cuz thy dont wont come out fr there dream fairy tale world of movies tht pampers them. so audience wake up n try new flavour. dont u ppl get bored of same stuff gettin feeded to u every friday. in my 26 years i have never seen film like no smoking… somethin close to ths movie is moksha .. so how pathatic is bollywood its become a business, art is gone..its all abut glamour & fashion show… throw any trash n make money out of it .. make somethin tht worked for some other film maker….well anurag 5 thumps up to u man.. keep it up .. i’ll be waitin for ure next movie …n i bet u wont put ma expectation down …
>-
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well forgot to add one thing on ma last post.. if audience are lame thn the films are watch are lame too. cuz only lame movies work n make money.. cuz to make a movie cost money.. so lame bollywood grow up n change ure audience view toward movies.. and yea i dont belive wa taran says.. tht guy gave 4 star of 5 to LOC. my god tht movie was crap 4 hours of torture i had to take medicine after the movie.. taran plz plz and dont be a puppet of yash raj and yash chopra.. hahah. gud one.. so anurag hope thy post ths msg n u get to read ths.. chao
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black friday was good……not great…..i haven’t seen no smoking yet….i don’t expect it to be great either….if a movie is intelligent, that doesn’t make it great….
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admin note: reported for abuse. maha madarchod movie..wannabe…
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its a god-damn fucking awesome movie!!! had the same movie been made in english, the wannabe indian audience would have hogged to the cinema halls to watch the movie…..the present film critics have no sense of their own…maybe, paisa bolta hai….but kya karey…but there is a percentage of population wid the mind in the right place and as long as such good sensible movies are made, we will come to theatres to watch it… it is thousand times much better than some fuck’ol commercial movies tht run just because of the BANNERS…
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Kem choo jignesh bhai..Majaa ma?!!! But lot of people did not get “moksha” like you or me….kya karen!!
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Anurag,
I saw your movie ‘no smoking’ today, it was mind-blowing. I wanted to thank you for making this movie.
Also, I would like to say that your movies are beyond reviews, and people who read/write such reviews (almost all the reviews i read had nothing good to say abt the movie), don’t deserve to watch this movie; its another point that they will hardly understand the movie.
Keep up the good work.
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Anurag,
I think no more you are replying here on this post…
I watched the movie..and liked it..
The narrative style is quite interesting, I just read people reaction on this..and I am amused to see that people have quite different views and interpretations. So I would say NO SMOKING is the best example where you can say “narrative is in audience’ hands”.
And I found it very stylish too..beautiful colors/lights..it reminds of Wong-Kar Wai’ movies… over all aesthetics were amazing…(sply the pryogshala scenes)
Text is also interesting and it is very much similar to Fight Club at some level….I would love to know about the Vishal’s contribution to the text…:p or how wat his stake on such text…
Congrats!!!
-KM-
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Anurag,
I want to tell you a story. Check if it can be made in a movie :P. A real talented director whose name is AK makes a movie about quitting alcohols. The movie is panned by some envious critics led by a Budda named KM( Bengali’s dont get any other interpretation). The director lashes out, gets drunk, feels like vomitting up his existential anguish to whole world. He meets with KM in a filmy party and as expected they start a fight.People has to call police to make AK calm.
AK comes to his home, finishes of a bottle of glenfiddich and sleeps. When he wakes up, HE HAS BECOME KM. His world has changed. Now he lashes movie makers who thinks different, worships mafias of B’wood , licks shoes of superstar whose name starts with S and ends with N ( Not SHAITAAN, silly) and for some strange reason does not like a new kid in the block whose name is AK and who makes ‘HATKE” movies with name like “No Joking” and “Yellow Sunday”.
Now the conflict in the story is : Will AK ever get back his own self? Will he ever realise that in reality he is not KM but the one and only AK? Who is behind this devious plot of transforming AK into KM? Who is that other AK?….
When and IF ever you read this post…we will discuss the prospect of the movie. I can produce it under my banner “NeverMadeMovies”. Just one request, you will do the screenwriting but the direction will be done by the most famous and amazing coffee cup holder of B’Wood.
Lemme know if we can cut the deal.
Thanks and Regards,
Brain Tied and Twisted just an Cubicle Bound Misfit,I
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Mr Kashyap, no matter how good or genius you are, what exactly matter is EITHER THE MOVIE IS ACCEPTED BY VIEWERS OR THE CRITICS.
Unfortunately in case of No Smoking, It failed on the both front.
End of the day the producer of the movie expected the return of his money.
One can play the bonefire with his own money and can say proudly ‘Its my money and my creative desire… f**k the world’.
I donot support any of personal attack on you while reviewing your movie, but you can SHUT THEM UP by turning in to PRODUCER.
You might have habit of being arrogant or agressive while protecting your work, do not forget this is not your last product to be judged by the world, SHUT THE WORLD UP BY YOUR FUTURE WORK.. NOT BY THE WORDS.. like ‘Chutiya’ and whatever.
Why do you put yourself in the same categories of critics whom you feel got personal with you rather than reviewing your work.
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The language of Comment 133 by machchar suggests it must be a re-incarnation of Anurag Kashyap.
Seems like someone creatively depressed is writing out of his frustration.
Come on guys, accept it.. it is just another movie which is competing with RGV ki AAG.
Truth may be harsh.. but must be accepted.
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It was indeed a wonderful movie. I really liked it. Storyline was wonderful (best in this year up to now ). Screenplay was good but if you had worked on it hard this movie could be an Oscar winning movie. (There were many flaws in the screenplay e.g. book my ticket from every destination to every other destination from place X. Incorrect English :D) Acting of K’s wife should have more intensity. I’m still not able to understand why a lot of people could not understand the movie. I found it simple to understand as compared to movies like Memento where no one except me was awake till the end of the movie. Direction was awesome. The way you have shown the place of Baba Bengali and his call-center was amazing and unthinkable.
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Hi Anurag,
I am not in India right now and have therefore not been able to see No Smoking yet.
However, it is very interesting to see the kind of passionate discussion the film has evoked all over the online world at least.
What is even more interesting is how everyone is sitting in judgement not so much of the film, but of the person who’s made the film.
I came across this particular review, which is one of the few reviews of the film and not the person. Wanted to share the same with you and the members of this community:
http://tehelka.com/story_main34.asp?filename=Ws101107NoSmoking.asp
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Hi Anurag,
I loved your film. My take on the film is a little different – don’t try to decipher everything while watching the film, fo with the flow, let it linger on and bring it back home with you and then ponder about it. I’ve tried to explain this here:
http://urgetofly.blogspirit.com/archive/2007/10/31/no-smoking-review.html
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Ekdum ga*d fadu picture banayeli haain anurag tune. Ekdum zakas. Loved it. Absolutely brilliant. don’t ever change anurag. if you change you will kill yourself. don’t change and don’t quit.
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As someone mentioned earlier, every time you watch ‘No Smoking’, you’ll have a new interpretation, a new perspective. It is that kind of a movie which a bunch of movie fanatics should sit together, indulge in, and then discuss.
I have never seen a HIndi movie quite like this – or even remotely similar. It was not arrogant, but an audacious attempt. I bet the director, Mr,. Kashyap, ever begged anyone into watching. It was the intrigue created by the promos, and of course, the reputation, that dragged every one of us into the halls.
When I was trying to describe this movie to a friend of mine, I was short of genres? What does this fall in to? To be very generic – fantasy, surreal?
I loved it to the core. It was like ‘requiem’ – though on different lanes. It blew my mind. The mind and its intricacies are always baffling. ANd this peaks it. I thought and I thought. I slept over it. I have an interpretation of my own, and I am not sure whether that is what the director wanted me to understand. But what I have understood, I have loved.
Now, call that a director’s failure or success – catch 22! Sounds familiar? ;)
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Hi Anurag….
I firmly believe that” No Smoking” is a good effort by you.For me,NS is like those dreams,on which i spent hours and hours after waking up to recollects and coordinate the visuals.And i enjoyed doing that.In similar way i enjoyed “No Smoking”.And i would like to tell you that all of my batchmates(IIT Delhi) liked this movie.And you know by making movies like Black friday and No Smoking, you become cult director among intellectuals.I and my friends wants to organize AK’s Movie festival(paanch,BF and NS) in IIT Delhi campus & call you for discussion.there are many fan followers of your’s.Let me know at deviitd@hotmail.com if you can manage time.
Thanks,
dev
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@Joyjeet
Thanks Joyjeet for reply….
I got some idea……….
but still thinking……..try to link story………:)
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Gurudev,
I saw No Smoking yesterday.
It was a pleasure. Good News for Indian Cinema. Great news for the younger practitioners of the craft. You open doors for them.
Thank you!!
No Smoking maine ek PVR mai dekhi. I was stunned after coming out. I was in the heart of the JAT land..and in this very mainstream place..this mall.. and I come out of a REAL experience. A REAL
EXPERIENCE.
…leaving unnamed unwanted messages is not the standard mode of operation. But nevertheless.
Manmohan Desai ki filmon ke baad itni Ishtylish film dekhi. Your grasp over your medium and your confidence is evident. It’s unapologetic. Cool. And self serving.
I wouldnt call it arrogance.It was sharpness.. coupled with the frustration of brilliance not being noticed.
Ek din ek mitr ke saath ambition ke baare main baat ho rahi thhi.. toh usne kaha..
“All ambition is disillusioned …its the moment of self glory , vanity and intellectual vile which matters.”
No smoking .. and your other works somehow stretch that moment of intellectual gaming to a huge scale.
Film making as a practice always fascinated me..simply by the level of sustainable effort it required…
..No smoking .. by far supersedes anything that I have been witness to..in terms of intellecetual gaandmasti. at least what has come out in the last 5 years in Indian Cinema..uske pehle aap jaane.
Balck Friday was a more’ Sthir’ film made on a subject that gave no space for tangents and twists…
But.. no smoking.. The trips ..tangents..aisa laga ki main ek basket main hoon aur nadi ki lehro main jhoom raha hoon..
and the way it celebrates smoking..waaah!!
Maine interval main cigarette nahin pi taaki picture ke baad pehla kash ka mazaa le sakoon…
Kuch Jankaaro se yeh bhi maloom pada hai ki this film comes from ur frustration and anger.. over the mainstream..
yehi ek chinta ka vishay hai.. aur shayad the focal point of your practice..
Jab andar se zyaada bahar ka mahaul bhaari padta hai to usse aam bhaasha mein Chutyapa kehte hai.
In my book.. how you handle the Chutyaapa is what makes you. whatever you are to be made.
Mere ek aur mitr ne subah chaar baje naali main girne se pehle kaha thha..
“Bahut aaye meri zindagi main hagne waale.. paadh ke chal diye..”
What I mean is that.. asali cheez toh aapka riyaaz hai.. baaki sab to aata jaata rehta hai..
Yeh shayad mujhse accha aap jaane..
Look forward to some more..
Aap ‘Strot’ hai aur hum rasik..
Bahut Time baad itna maza aaya. Dilli aaye toh milna. Adda marte hai.
Sunne main aaya hai ki aap Doga par bhi film banane waale hai.. Main pichhle 1 1/2 saal se Raj par Shhodh kar raha hoon..
Would love to know more about your project..
Cheers,
A
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Gurudev,
I saw No Smoking yesterday.
It was a pleasure. Good News for Indian Cinema. Great news for the younger practitioners of the craft. You open doors for them.
Thank you!!
No Smoking maine ek PVR mai dekhi. I was stunned after coming out. I was in the heart of the JAT land..and in this very mainstream place..this mall.. and I come out of a REAL experience. A REAL
EXPERIENCE.
…leaving unnamed unwanted messages is not the standard mode of operation. But nevertheless.
Manmohan Desai ki filmon ke baad itni Ishtylish film dekhi. Your grasp over your medium and your confidence is evident. It’s unapologetic. Cool. And self serving.
I wouldnt call it arrogance.It was sharpness.. coupled with the frustration of brilliance not being noticed.
Ek din ek mitr ke saath ambition ke baare main baat ho rahi thhi.. toh usne kaha..
“All ambition is disillusioned …its the moment of self glory , vanity and intellectual vile which matters.”
No smoking .. and your other works somehow stretch that moment of intellectual gaming to a huge scale.
Film making as a practice always fascinated me..simply by the level of sustainable effort it required…
..No smoking .. by far supersedes a lot that I have been witness to..in terms of intellecetual gaandmasti. .uske pehle aap jaane.
Balck Friday was a more’ Sthir’ film made on a subject that gave no space for tangents and twists…
.No Smoking
the way it celebrates smoking..waaah!!
Maine interval main cigarette nahin pi taaki picture ke baad pehla kash ka mazaa le sakoon…
Kuch Jankaaro se yeh bhi maloom pada hai ki this film comes from ur frustration and anger.. over the mainstream..
yehi ek chinta ka vishay hai.. aur shayad the focal point of your practice..
Jab andar se zyaada bahar ka mahaul bhaari padta hai to usse aam bhaasha mein Chutyapa kehte hai.
In my book.. how you handle the Chutyaapa is what makes you. whatever you are to be made.
Mere ek aur mitr ne subah chaar baje naali main girne se pehle kaha thha..
“Bahut aaye meri zindagi main hagne waale.. paadh ke chal diye..”
What I mean is that.. asali cheez toh aapka riyaaz hai.. baaki sab to aata jaata rehta hai..
Yeh shayad mujhse accha aap jaane..
Look forward to some more..
Aap ‘Strot’ hai aur hum rasik..
Dilli aaye toh milna. Adda marte hai.
Sunne main aaya hai ki aap Doga par bhi film banane waale hai.. Main pichhle 1 1/2 saal se Raj par Shhodh kar raha hoon..
Would love to know more about your project..
Cheers,
A
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No Smoking is not 1st of its kind in India
I am a regular visitor of this site and find it very useful to know my taste of films, also about world cinema of which I have limited knowledge. From the day “No Smoking” has released there is lot of discussion happening around in PFC and I am closely observing it. When it released I tried to give it a try despite the -ve reviews all over but couldn’t make it, finally reading lot of articles on PFC and looking at Anurag’s earlier work I couldn’t resist myself and saw it.
Its a very different film and 1st of its kind in Hindi cinema but not in Indian cinema!!!!! ’cause I have seen such an attempt in Kannada way back in 1998 and the film is “Upendra” directed by Upendra,it was a huge hit at box-office and highest grosser of that year in Kannada. My prior experience of that film and Anurag’s explaination made me to connect directly to the film and its character.
As AK’s attempt to metaphor cigerette to Arrogance here in “Upendra” he (Director-Upendra) metaphors life to a man by the name ‘Naanu’ (Myself) thats why he kept name of the film Upendra – which is his real name. The film itself starts with Vikram-Betaal characters where as usual Vikram tries to catch Betaal and Betaal puts the condition to narrate the story. There starts the story of ‘Naanu’ (Myself) and one cannot connect to the story, characters, twists and finally there are 3 heroines, one – Wife, two – Lover and three – A rich girl he wants to marry. The film continues and till the end no one understands what’s happening but at the end story comes back to Vikram – Betaal where Betaal asks 3 questions and Vikram answers them and it elaborates the intension of the film and film ends with the spiritual note, where he leaves everything and goes and his character fades away into the light.
What I am trying to say is – being unconventional, different and 1st of its kind in Hindi cinema Anurag should have made it clear that what is his intension behind such a film through media or through some how in the screenplay, its just like asking people who are used to eating meal with hands to use spoon and fork for this one special dish. Even its not undermining the viewers as it may sound but when lot of money, effort are involved it should recover its cost atleast and some neat profits then larger audience is expected. Since its 1st of its kind and AK would have taken such a libery and would have made his intentions clear, then probably you would have touch the cord, got altogether different reviews and collections.
Eagerly waiting to your comments and specially from Anurag Kashyap.
With Love
Babu
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Dear Anurag,
I agree you
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A must read review of NS
http://www.tehelka.com/story_main34.asp?filename=Ws101107NoSmoking.asp
A small section from the interview is reproduced here
“The good news is that for viewers who are willing to open themselves to it, No Smoking is a daring, imaginative, often brilliant film, one that marries a very personal vision with some of the best technical effects and cinematography currently available in Bollywood.”
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I was with upendra on the day he launched upendra in bangalore..
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and yes you are right about it what you say babu..
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Just saw it and LOVED it. I can’t say that I understood it Completely. It needs more viewings to grasp it completely but it appeals to me on many subconscious level. As dev said it’s like many dreams i had and spent hours to recollect and reconnects those Visuals.
The overall impact of the film is so satisfying.
Whatever critics says don’t care. Indian audience are not used to such kind of films and I am sure they will be one day because of you Anurag.:)>-
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Your movie is incredible. I was expecting something on similar lines, and we all know how perfectly impossible it is for these Bollywood ‘directors’ to stay true to any quantum of expectation. It’s tasteful, bizarre and what cinema ought to be. I don’t want to see yet another story of how a couple gets to know each other better and how yet another superstar is having a reincarnation to meet his lover from past life. What bull. What is the friggin point of recreating something that’s been done a million times already. And I would bitch about your movie if you tried to do something novel and failed. But you didn’t, but there’s a different world out there where everyone has a problem with something that goes way above their head. Give them the routine shit and they’ll applaud running about kissing the actor’s ass. But this is great…the only movie from Bollywood that could make sense to me, all that I’ve thought of at 3 in the morning, with decadence all around me. The world has changed..and just like a man wouldn’t pull down his eyes from me when he’s leching, I’m surely not going to but out my cigarette because it makes you cough. Funny thing that your characters in the movie are on a no smkoking drawl , but can still smoke…ha ha. It all depends on what the system picks on. Right now it’s smoking, and big up to you for thinking of that.
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I meant that they can still drink..typo!
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All i can say is Congratulations… Fabulous movie… Finally someone is bringing this genre of cinema to out country…
Cheers.
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just saw it again today…just loved it…
Anurag please dont sell ur soul to the big bad world of hindi cinema and continue to entertain us with ur cinema….also kudos to Vishal and Kumar Mangat for supporting the movie!!!!!!
hope to see more!!!!!!!!!
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Anurag some 7-8 years back I read ur article in a magazine called GENTLEMAN, you talked about how you faced flak in ur school that nurtured you to write and more stuff like that. I really felt that its only a person like you who can take the Indian cinema to next level.
Are you doing justice to that expectation?? I havnt seen NO SMOKING nor will I. But tell me (tell us) are you really proud of the product that has come out. Remember this is a very expensive medium of expression. PLEASE RESPECT this medium. Creativity is not about self obsession or narcissism. It just springs from within and yes, it has nothing to do with what you know or want to tell. As I said, it just springs. It should flow, dont force your opinions on other in the name of creativity.
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Anurag some 7-8 years back I read ur article in a magazine called GENTLEMAN, you talked about how you faced flak in ur school that nurtured you to write and more stuff like that. I really felt that its only a person like you who can take the Indian cinema to next level.
Are you doing justice to that expectation?? I havnt seen NO SMOKING nor will I. But tell me (tell us) are you really proud of the product that has come out. Remember this is a very expensive medium of expression. PLEASE RESPECT this medium. Creativity is not about self obsession or narcissism. It just springs from within and yes, it has nothing to do with what you know or want to tell. As I said, it just springs. It should flow, dont force your opinions on other in the name of creativity..
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I think babu made a really good point about how the reactions to the movie could have been different if the audience had been given a prior warning about the surreal nature of the movie via its promos…
One can’t help noticing the fact that many comments which come now about the movie are so favorable. People who see the movie now know what’s coming at them…
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My view on EVERYTHING about NO SMOKING!
After reading all the bad reviews about NO SMOKING, I had decided not to see it in a theatre… My dvd had arrived yesterday, and once i reached home i could not resist watching it… I put on the film at 1.30 in the midnight, with lot of pre-biased expectations… But but but… The film began and it jus caught my attention completely… 10 mins down the line, i thought to myself that may be the worse bit might start any moment as the film was actually holding my attention… 20 mins down the line, i thought again that its going great, and may be the worse should begin very soon, after all everyone criticised it left right and centre… 30 mins, 40 mins, 50 mins and interval… The film was so gripping with every scene as unexpected as the one before… I thought to myself that I haven’t seen this kind of a film ever in bollywood… Its got its own method of narration… I got reminded of the bad reviews again, and thought may be the second half might have annoyed everyone… But as the second half progressed, after every scene I just felt amazed by the film maker… The film had its own soul… At times, i would wonder that the film had its own method of narrative… It would “intentionally” try to look complicated, but still somewhere within, the viewer can relate to the events… I get confused but i still understand it all… I mean how many film makers can make you see a film the way you want… You can interpret every scene your own way, cannot understand the scenes, but still realise that you actually know whats really happening… I had thought NO SMOKING was just another RGV KI AAG… I might have sarcastically laughed on every bad review i read about NO SMOKING, but i really feel guilty after watching it… Plz everyone kill me…
Now lets get straight to all that we read about NS and AK lately… I really pity Anurag Kashyap for he’s born in India… People here understand only limited emotions… Entertainment here means either u make them laugh, cry, sing, dance and fall in love… Anything different is considered to be “unentertaining”… I have a wierd question… Can Silence be entertaining as well?? Or can’t it?? Why not?? Why are we not open to darker films… Can’t a bizarre film have a story? I feel pity for all the critics in India that they might have unknowingly become a big obstacle in the evolution of our cinema today… And most of the viewers opinions get biased on others view-points… If I have to write a “full-support” article about NO SMOKING, deep inside me i have to be ready for some fire back from everyone as my views don’t support theirs… I did not get surprised that a film like NS is difficult to understand for people in India, for whatever reasons… But imagine critics who can go out and out giving 5 star ratings to EKLAVYA (trying to prove that they have some intellect) outright dismissing NO SMOKING saying they are not even able to understand it… Atleast Khaled Mohamed’s english gives us a feeling that his oxford dictionary is much fatter than ours… Everytime he writes a hindi film review, he tries to prove that our cinema is no good and we do the same old shit always… But when someone attempts to make a change, he fires back again (and this time he crosses the line due to personal reasons)! Taran Adarsh doesn’t want to support this new method of story telling… I remember he’s the same guy who gave 3 and half stars to NAKSHA… Period.
Now lets get straight to why we should appreciate this kind of cinema… I would have loved to take people’s feedback on films made by geniuses like WONG KAR WAI… People can appreciate the bizarre scenes of hiding a secret in a mountain in Wong kar wai’s IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE… they can appreciate his 2046, even without undertstanding the film on the first watch… They wouldn’t mind watching it again to just understand the film, so that their intellect is at par with the film maker… And how about DARREN ARONOFSKY, the guy whose made films like REQUIEM FOR A DREAM and the recent THE FOUNTAIN… Aren’t his films bizarre but visually amazing?? The same people can go an extra mile to appreciate these films made by outsiders… But when someone at home reaches their level of intellect with a home-made product, people get hurt! Its very sad to know that we get so double faced in our attitudes… Anyways, for me NO SMOKING works big time… Atleast one film wants to do justice to its narrative… If its bizarre, let that be… atleast its honest to itself… And it re-inforces my feeling of pity for ANURAG KASHYAP for he is in and around a society where people would kill him, but not let him start a revolution!
This is purely my view-point on the film NO SMOKING as a film maker, audience and critic within myself… Difference of opinion is already established before! And one last word of advice to everyone whose seen/unseen this film… I think the best way to watch this film is on the dvd, that too all alone, as your opinions would be purely your own after watching it that way… I only wish the “PHOONK DE” (John-Bipasha item number) promotion song wouldn’t have been added into the end credits/film, cos thats the only bit that makes the film deviate from its honesty…
Regds,
Manish Jain
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Manish ,
where did u get the DVD from ….is it released on DVD ..
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another “OK” review of NS ….
http://www.ndtvmovies.com/reviews.asp?lang=hindi&id=275&moviename=No+Smoking
“But if you give it your time, No Smoking will get under your skin in a way that few films do. “
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The promos were very misleading and I thought I was going to see a conventional story with Item numbers via Bips, but after watching the movie I didn’t even miss seeing item numbers during the movie. After 2 days I’m still thinking about the movie and constantly amazed at the reasons people are criticizing it for.
I do believe it should not have been released at the same cinemas that would play a Om Shanti Om type film, but since I’m not familiar with India I don’t know if they have Art House cinemas. If the audience had been given a little more warning on what the movie was going to be like it might have not taken most people off guard. I don’t know if the promotion was the fault of EROS, but I’ll blame them anyway because I find them incompetent.
I hope the distributors give it a little more time now that word about the movie has spread. It would be a shame for it’s target audience not to be able to enjoy this mind stretching experience.
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@Manish,
What a great comment and it was everything I was already thinking. I kept waiting for it to get bad and it never did, but I did enjoy the Item number at the end because I was so worn out mentally by the end of the movie it was a little soothing….
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Is NO SMOKING out on DVD yet? I am dying to see it.
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dear anurag,http://passionforcinema.com/smilies/yahoo_peace.gif
>-
first of all let me congratulate whole heartedly for your brilliant effort. the film is exceptionally great. you achieved the exact thing you wanted.its the best surrealistic movie ever made in Indian cinema.i can watch any number of your future movies just because you directed this fantastic movie. and as you know most times majority’s opinion may be the fools opinion who wants to escape with the stream. you are a person who are supposed to swim against the stream. dont ever get disappoint with the box office verdicts
>- just think your thoughts are superior to them.
>- absolutely a directors film so that makes little difference.hats off you dear anurag for your 
>- brilliant effort. keep it up and conquer new heights. sky is not a limit for you. congrats.
the future will count your works.go the way you are.let the world to follow you.never try to compromise. just one comment nana patekkar would have been a better choice than jhon. but anyway its
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Saw it for the 3rd time yesterday!!
At the cinema may I add!!!
You know, I am really loving this film..it’s been pulled off my local cinema, but I feel that I made the most of it by watching it thrice!!!!
I really don’t know what the problem is with some people.
This is a very unique cinema experience.
Again, well done Anurag!!!
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Hey man,
Don’t listen to critics.
They are frustrated film makers.
Make your film, finish it, move on to the next. Let the others wonder why this why that.
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Bhai…
hala ki maine abhi film nahi dekhi, i did hear a lot of negative things about the film, we all know how the critics write… chodo na (leave it)… aap apne kaam karte raho… D ke M ki C… wink…
For the englsh audience D here means world, M – Mother and C refers to Challenge.
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Unite together for
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Hi Anurag;
Watched the movie today in the theatre….
Frankly speaking ;the theatre was empty ……..
I wanna ask a few questions n want you to give honest answers please……
a ) Every film should recover its money…Are u sure that this movie would do it?
b ) U said u want the movie find its audiences…
Obviously earlier when u used 2 promote n talked about d movie u were very positive n hopeful it wud find a certain thread of understanding……
Be honest ….don’t u feel it has not been able to find neither with audience nor with critics…
Very very very few are saying they understood or appriciated it….others r saying neither but still respect that its different….
Was this u were looking fa when u started out?
But I tell u one thing this is one of the most debated,discussed n a movie which z like a storm fa somewhere fa Indian screen…..
It has totally taken the critics unawares as they are now struggling with methods as to how to review a movie like this????
They are caught unawares!!! so the deep criticism……
But sure u were not looking fa this when u started out…u were looking fa more acceptance….
n don’t tell me this z an arrogant movie n u knew in advance wud find few takers……
But Mark my words they way u have unfolded a story fa 2 hours on screen has never been seen before on Indian screen…….
It would be kept on being dicussed n debated n reviwed fa years more to come…
Just chk on length of blogs n reviews on other websites……….
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Anurag is the story same n script same wat u wanted 2 make wid shahrukh…..
i tell u all d critics wud have understood d same story had srk starred in it….
smart guy dat he z he wud have marketed d movie months before like dat..n critics wud had understood this movie then !!!!!!!
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Zaidi Bhai, Salaam Aliekum….Let me tell you one story….
Once upon a time, there was this chicken…Those days, Chickens did not cross the road…So, this chicken used to look at the other side of the road for hours and hours wondering what lies ahead….This chicken was slowly building up courage to cross the road. One day, he decided to take the plunge. Other chickens tried to discourage him. But our chicken said someone should find out…and he sprinted across the road. BANG!! A truck passed by and our chicken came under its wheel. It was squashed.
Now other chickens came and started beating in anger for attempting to cross the road, even though they know the chicken is already dead. Every chicken who used to pass by took a stick and used to beat the dead body of the chicken “Saala Road cross karna chahta tha…dekho kidhar hain”….
So…many years passed but the first attempt did not go waste. Many young chickens, which were still in their eggs when this incident happened, used to listen in amazement about this story of the chicken who tried to cross the road…slowly more chickens started getting inspired! And one by one, chickens started crossing the road!
So now you know why the chicken crossed the road!!
HAHA!
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Dear Friends
On post no. 460 I made a grammatical mistake in 7th line of 2nd paragraph corrected it below”
if cinema hall owners do not find viewers then next Friday with new release they may take away
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atar mein dubki lagate hi,
nasha chadne se pehle hi,
angrayee li tanhaiyaan;
yeh kaisi aag lagayee
jo bujha saki na parchaiyyan.
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Hi Anurag,
I have not seen the movie yet but m sure it is a fabulous movie made by a wonderful director.
I have been waiting for the release of ur first film PAANCH…any updates??….can u arrange a screening for ur die hard fans…
keep up the gud work
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Machchar Bhai
Wale Kum Salaam
The chicken story cleared the whole thing 2 me…but believe me dont u ever believe the one that crossed the road first z at all dead ….
he z very much alive n kicking n raring……..
Only thing that I wanna say again n again….z this movie ” No Smoking” is really sumthing which has never been attempted or seen on Indian screen before….n beleive me while there were “new age” n ” different” multiplex cinema on a continuos basis since some time now……..
Anurag Kashyap has kickstarted the concept of this kind of cinema…..
which Indian audiences never were exposed 2…
n years later he would be remembered as the one who started it all….
Mark my words…..
” No Smoking ” was not a movie with no shortcomings but it wud be remembered as a movie dat started it all……
Macchar???? wat say?
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Hi Anurag;
Here are the moments I liked in the movie n appreciate ur depth of thought a lot:
1. John calling his wife conveying he z ready to go 2 prayogshaala ( n d conversation)
2. John trying hard 2 put up a ciggarette in his friends mouth forcefully
3. All the comic bubble dialogues
4. The girl singing in male’s voice ( yes Khalid!!!!)
5. All burqa clad girls adaab!!( burqa unexplained)
6. John asking the old lady 2 take stairs
Two scenes were simply raced my heart-beats:
1.Realization by Paresh Rawal that he has messed up the punishment n John never took the cigarette in his mouth( I prayed he wud do a massive repent…alas he gave himself benefit of doubt)
2. John’s brother’s all attempts 2 kill himself
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Liked: Pathbreaking in almost every way, Great visuals, Machinist/Fight Club-like mental deterioration, allegorical story telling, blend of absurd and real, gets under the skin of the viewer’s psychology, innovative non-linear narration, post-modernist in the sense of cultural references, doesn’t try to resolve what it can not resolve, very dark.
Didn’t like: Too long, loose threads in narration, could have been far more entertaining, too many references to “dualism” shareer-aatmaa, netherworld and religious undertones makes an atheist frown, confusing story, “philosophically” few points to take home e.g. plotwise it had far more potential to explore existential themes, not-so-effective dialogues, noir + black comedy + surrealist – too much blending of genres => doesn’t have the rawness of noir or the subtle irony of black comedy, an Indian audience is unlikely to buy the idea, very dark.
To conclude: I wish it were as sincere as Hubert Selby in analysis of addiction. But, it’s a relief to see that an Indian film maker finally making a bold movie in the surrealistic genre.
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I was surprised when I read Prithviraj Hegde’s review on Rediff. Generally Rediff’s rankings are pretty close to reality. However, Mr. Hegde’s not “awarding” even a single star to No Smoking was alarming. I wondered what on earth could a talented person like you make such a pathetic movie that even people left the halls. Regardless of reviews, I decided to invest time in watching it, after all its Anurag Kayshap’s movie.
To be honest with you, I was completely bowled out the way you took cinematic liberty in executing something like No Smoking to its best. From time to time films like Minority Report came to mind and I was thinking that it was too early for the lovers of Indian cinema (I didn’t say Indian viewers: ) to digest something like No Smoking.
At the end I was thinking what did Mr. Hedge expect No Smoking to be? John Abraham dancing around trees or Paresh playing again a comic nerd. So Mr. Hedge what were you smoking
?
Anurag, go ahead with the kind of films you have believed in. The more these reviewers are writing, the more they are getting exposed. Look at a looser like Khalid. I thought he would not only retire from film direction but also from reviewing. Kunal Kohli showed signs of creativity in Hum Tum, but if you minus Aamir/Kajol, what is left in Fanaa? So forget about these reviewers, and keep on making the films you have always believed in.
MacBok
P.S; please remove some Ads from your website, at least serious blogs like yours doesn’t to earn money in such a way.
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Anurag Bhai, aapne promise kiya tha ki picture release hone ke baad aap uski Patkatha idhar chhapenge. Kripiya woh vaada nibhaye. :d
Aur jisne bhi iss film ki boorayi ki hai woh sab ullu ke pathe hain. Mere 70 saalke Babuji, jinohne kabhi cigarette ko haath nahi lagaya woh bhi zor zor se hans rahethe pahale half mein. Dusre half thode kharate mare per khatam hone baad bole Achhi tarahse banayi hai beta
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There should be a screenplay post every week, a new screenplay of a hindi movie uploaded!! At least we get to read hindi movie screenplays for a change.:)
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This movie was somewhat along the lines of a movie like Mulholland Drive, where there is avery thin line between what is really happening and what is a dream. There can be so many interpretations for this movie. It just leaves you baffled ans asking for more. I and my friend had an endless discussion of sorts after watching this movie. Believe it or not guys, some portion of the movie came in my dream also.. :d
Anyways, Anurag, just when I thought how different or ‘hatke’ movies can be made in Indian film industry, you go ahead and make “no Smoking”. Breathtaking, I should say.. And I loved the much criticised second half of the movie..
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Suchita aunty…In Mumbai, if you just narrate your story to someone, it gets copied in a second and they will change it in such a way that you know its your story but can’t say anything! haha! Imagine posting your screenplays on the web, there will be thousand “inspirations” immediately. Our people are maahir in taking points out of plots and fucking it up!
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What i want to ask Anurag is this-
He had written a post earlier when he had talked about the editing process of No Smoking where you cut the film from 169 minutes or so to around 120?
Do you think something went wrong there (since you have spoken somewhere that you should have probably reached out to the audience a little more)?
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Machchar- don’t know if Suchita is talking about unreleased movies. I for one would love to read scripts of even released movies or even old ones. Unfortunately, such resources don’t exist on the web till now. In fact I am even not sure if bound scripts actually exist in Bollywood or is it just sheafs of papers which are improvied upon on the sets…
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No Smoking is weird, confusing, and doesn’t explain everything that happens. I loved it! Its not what one would call a perfect film, but it clearly stems from a unique, uncompromising vision. There is a method behind the madness, even if the method itself is mad!
I will have to watch it again with some friends who are David Lynch fans. I hope you will get to do a commentary or on the DVD.
I hope you are entering this film in foreign film festivals.
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Hi Anurag,
Thank you very much for the movie. I have been seeing movies from I don
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Hey Anurag, what an insanely great movie.
This is the first time I’ve seen such a good bollywood movie. I really felt sick reading the critic’s reviews. Forget these jealous lesser intellects !!
Keep making such movies. In time, You will find your own audience, who are proud of your work. And don’t explain to those looters why you made what you made. I sincerely hope you continue making movies of such class and finesse.
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Abe Macchar.. teri to… mein unreleased films kee baat nahin kar rahin hoon… mein released films kee baat kar rahi hoon.. like good film scripts, black friday, maqbool, etc post bina padhe react kar diya
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Dazed and confused you are right am not talking about unreleased films, but about released films:d
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I reviewed this film after I saw it on the first day. Never knew about this site, so i’m posting it here.
NO SMOKING MOVIE REVIEW
CAST: JOHN ABRAHAM, AYESHA TAKIA, PARESH RAWAL,
DIRECTOR: ANURAG KASHYAP
RUNTIME: 120 min.
RATING: ****
GENRE: AVANT-GARDE, THRILLER, PSYCHOLOGICAL, NEO NOIR
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hey anurag, man congrats on such a brilliant cinematic piece ,irrespective of wat the demented ,unstable, non film educated people n specially film critics of this country think abt the movie,anurag i have been literaly dieing to watch this kind of surreal,abstract expressionist cinema,n specially that scene where u just focus on ayesha’s hand probably which is a bed scene is just brilliant .n also when was d last time we saw an indian actress sitting on pot taking a leak showed on screen ,i dont remember. ANURAG u r just simply fantastic, n i feel honoured to have met a cinema person like urself this year at OSEANS FILM FESTIVAL new delhi,my name is ASHWIN SOOD i was direction student n right now taking classes in acting ,im dying to wrk wid u!!!!!! My E-Mail address is ashwinsood@email.com ,looking forward to hear from u!!!!!!
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A Deathly mistake, naturally denied by the conscious u sir…
To pull off such a film you need an actor who can bring out, PSYCHOLOGICAL VALUE!
That is Communicate….Communicate…Anything monotonous KILLS…
Transition of emotion in many important scenes, Don’t ask!…
John is unfortunately too monotonous..I know he has helped you to make this project possible…I like him too as a human being..
But it is he who has failed or maybe you did not
bother to instruct him, which is infact very difficult……
Imagine what the film would have ben with somebody like Deniro, dustin hoffman or a klaus kinski…
To be honest I don’t think there is an actor in bollywood who can pull off such a film…
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Hats off Anurag. Your movie raised the bar for bollywood. Don’t let these a**** critics stop you man.
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Cigarette or no cigarette, I think Black Friday is a stroke of G.
I dont know if you got my note, Anurag, but I had written to you on myspace introducing my music to you. Please have a listen. It would be a great project if I could work with you on Dev D. You probably have already found someone but no harm trying. A shot in the dark, always worth it. The music is here – http://www.virb.com/ifdotdotdot – please have a listen and tell me what you think.
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Born in the wrong continent and at the wrong time man….will be there joining you in a few years time…..
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Hey Anurag,
I saw your film. Honestly I liked it.
And I bet only this film “No Smoking”
can be understood only by Smokers.
Non-Smokers cannot even understand what
you are talking about.
Its really a freedom for Stuggle.
Prem
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i was spellbound – hats off to you anurag
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Anurag, saw the movie last weekend. Just one word. Spellbinding.
3 cheers to a great film. Trust me, 10 years down the line, it would be a cult movie.
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Hi, Anurag,
Saw your movie No Smoking.I loved watching it and really appreciate you for showing guts to do a movie of this genre.
all the very best
Ram
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Anurag,
Saw the movie on Sat then again on Sun….though not able to fully understand it i loved it.i am dying to know your version(what u had in your mind) of the story coz every one will have their own take on the story.Thats the essence of NS i guess…..What was the significance of the 1 rupee ??????…
now here some funny stuff i decoded…
K’s brothers name in NS is J… so if suppose K stands for Kashyap (Representing path breaking makers) then i am assuming J stands for Johar (Representing other part of the industry masala movie makers)…which means K and J are brothers which implies both are part of same industry…so J is unhappy with K and asks him to leave (the hospital scene)since J does not like K’s attitude which is following his heart doing stuff u want to do …doing kind of movies which K wants to do ..unilike J ….:d …
P.S … the above part is just my assumption and i am sure has got nothing to do with whatever i have written….:d
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It really scares me when you get apologetic and angry . You do what you think is rite. Fuc the world…
The path of the Saint is always lonely…
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I rarely watch new hindi movies and when I do I normally go by Rajeev Masand’s reviews; and we both know what he has had to say about the movie.
But with all this talk going around and also owing to the immense pleasure I derived from your Karan bashing sometime back, I have decided to go see the movie after all.
So look forward to my review tomorrow.
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Can we stop all this critical consensus and begin to watch movies. I know your film needs a voice which it usually lacks. What if i gave you an opportunity to deciede of how a story should have ended or a film. Would you be able and give your time to endorse such an idea.
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hey,
hey,
saw no smoking. twice.
take bottle
bend ur arm
slingshot-malinga action
arm recoils
bottle on target
target=a certain critic’s head
u proved it right again. anything in the script can be and shud be executed. hats off! way beyondd time…but it was high time someone did it.u did it.
my name is ravi, age 22, mumbai. a mallu, passionate about cinema and obsessed with scripts and never uses the capslock button.
assisted malayalam director jayaraaj in a film based on kathakali in 2006. film-ananda bhairavi
just completed a hdv medium length film (52 mins 8 secs) on a sony z1.
astounding similarities between ur concept of no smoking and my concept of a dying india. as in our thoughts match.
no joking!
a certain abhijeet from zapak.com had interviewed u for black friday…in delhi. he spoke about me to u…and u wrote a short but really effective letter to me…u asked me to just write write write and keep on writing. well i did. that film is ready. and you ought to watch. hell u caused it!
the first copy of my short film is ready. is there any way i can send it across to u. wud appreciate ur comments.
and yea astounding similarities.
my actors are neil bhoopalam, namit das and puja sarup…theatre guys…old buddies from prithvi…i want u to watch their performances…have made the film on the basis of favours…no one has charged me a penny…this is how i can repay them…its worth watching these guys perform…they are bloody talented…just for them pls
name: ravi shankar
mail: ivarravi@gmail.com
i can courier u the dvd across…an original pirated copy of my film
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I loved this film more than Black Friday. What characterizes your films are honesty and I am very proud to see that in Indian cinema being a film enthusiast. I just hope there are more directors out there like you who can brave all the mud being slung at them and make such experimental movies, which are a delight to watch to us, even if we constitute about 3% of the viewership.
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@Anand Kadam
Good obeservation……….:)
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I live in Sydney and this is a
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Well Done Anurag.. I don’t have words for this movie. If people think it is worst movie of the year, Its ok.. You can expect anything else..
We know that this movie is for ‘K’s of the world only. Let people think what they want. People like me also live in India and we have rights to see good movie!!
No one was ready to come with me for this movie.. so what, I went alone. And the movie is still moving in my mind like smoke.. (I think that is the only relation movie has with smoking!!)
Because I was not aware about this site and your comments on the movie, I have just explained this movie on Rediff, but I was having a dought on my review, now I am sure..
Well Done and thanks a lot.. And don’t even think about bad reviews.. as your movie says,
Hell is other people..
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@Chirag Vaishnav
“I have just explained this movie on Rediff”
Pls send me the link of rediff.I want to under stand the movie.
Pls see comment no. 408.
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I think no smoking would make a great show on broadway. fantastical situations absurd thought and a contemporary india not an orientalist piece of something. would love to help re-write it.
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As plenty of people before me said, THANK YOU for NO SMOKING. In this day and age, when it’s high time for Hindi movie to grow up, people are celebrating the re-birth of the bloody reincarnation trash of 80’s (0SO). Hats off to you to even have the courage to think about releasing the movie.
I have done my bit to support you. Zaleem Zamaney ke baton mein naa aakey, Inox ka most expensive ticket kharid key raat ko gyara baje dekha yeh movie. And I really enjoyed it, except your building up to the climax.
Here’s how I deconstructed it. Correct me if I am wrong. Baba Bangali is the Devil. Smoking is the symbol for all your life’s miseries you want to get rid of. The Prayog Shala Programme is the promise of a shortcut solution to all your life’s problems.It’s the Devil’s way of doing things. Seemingly easy, very tempting, but actually dangerous and very, very costly. And all that stuff about his getting yanked off his soul is just a preview of what could happen if K doesn’t comply. He caused the Devil enough trouble already with all his arrogance and non cooperation. The only kind of peaceful existence possible is by being one of His minions and do exactly as He tells.
But what I personally think went wrong in your film towards the ending is clashing of two levels of meanings. Every allegory has two meanings. One at surface level – cause-effect, storyline and another deeper, philosophical. One to enjoy, other to ponder. I think towards the ending the deeper meaning floated up to the surface, causing much trouble and heartburn.What say?
Anyway, keep making intelligent movies. Anurag tum aagey bado, hum tumarey saath hain!
:x
p.s.: An unexpected angle to NO SMOKING, in case you have not noticed. Oodles of John in his half-naked, chiseled splendour satisfied a lot of sexually repressed aunties. I can vouch for the ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’. The theatre was half-empty, everything echoed.Perhaps a music video of ‘Phunk De’ with all the revealing shots of John to recover the losses? ;)
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I finally saw No Smoking on Saturday. Ever since I’d heard the widely contradicting reviews about it
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Anurag man come up with the post explaining NS ..i am dying to decipher it … ..so many questions … ..pls man ….
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@Chirag Vaishnav
Pls give ur link abt NS on rediff …
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Here is a link..
http://www.rediff.com/movies/2007/oct/26smoke.htm
Topic:
No Smoking is Not About Smoking..
by Chirag Viashnav on Nov 06, 2007 10:13 AM
I haven’t written much there, but I think it will give you the basic Idea.. Let me know your feedback.
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guys ..i guess no smoking fever is slowly grasping on ….After reading the comments here and on other websites its clear that more and more ppl have started liking it ..this is surely gone be a cult movie in coming times ….some years down the lane evryone will have a DVD of this movie …kudos to Mr .Kashyap ….great going man .. …
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@Chirag Vaishnav ….
small but good thought on NS ….But its very difficult to understand which scene is real and which one is happening in K’s brain …i guess once we figure out that ..the concept would get more clearer … ..wow ..this movie reminds me of matrix …no matter how many times u watch it u crave for more and evrytime you watch it u get to know something new …
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@Chirag Vaishnav
@Anand Kadam
Pls send me text what u wrote at rediff because i can’t open the rediff link in office.
mail id: dileep@newgen.co.in
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@Dileep Kumar hers what vishal had to say abt NS
No Smoking is Not About Smoking..
by Chirag Viashnav on Nov 06, 2007 10:13 AM |
The movie is excellent..Actually this movie has nothing to do with Smoking. Ya, its about re-programming, re-programing of human being to make it a part of “mechanical system”.
Movie is all about how a human lost his freedom, wishes, desires and get converted to a body who does what others are doing..
And being a part of a system he does same with others what people do with him!! Some unknown fear.. which makes you to do what others want you to do.(remember the black box where the put K and then do not show what happens there!) There are lot of good sequences in the move which you need to feel..
I can keep writing for whole day about movie but I have other work to do. So.. if you still have difficulty in getting it, go and watch it again. But.. you need have soul.. you should be able to think.. If you have already gone through baba’s treatment, this movie is not for you..
For the people who have seen this movie and hate it like anything, go for ‘jab we met’, ‘laga chunri me daag’, ‘om santi om’.. and be hapy.
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anurag,
sab ki maa ki aankh,im fan of ur’s since i saw black friday n paanch now u’ll ask me how did i saw paanch? u remember u came to videokraft studio for promos of paanch,sum promos wer cut..
i saw d film during digitising of film…
it was really fab,its bad luck of d audience that they didnt see it..also i remember when we were having raste ka chinese and u just picked up sum rice from the plastic bag (which has sum rice left) and asked us ..can i have sumthing..i’ll continue later as i need to go..
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[admin note: please remove caps and write the comment. And if you would like to be this critical, please use your name and email so the author can reply you back and have a positive discussion on this.]DEAR ANURAG…YEH JITNEY LOG BHI PFC MAIN BOL RAHEY HAIN UNHONEY FILM DEKHI AUR ACCHI LAGI HAI..WO LOG FILM DEKHA HI NAHI…WOH SAN AAND HAIN…KAHI NA KAHI KOI KUCH TUMSE CHAHTA HAI..JAISE ASSISTANT DIRECTION ETC.AGAR ITNEY LOGO NE DEKHI HOTI TO FILM HIT HO JAATI…SAALEY SAB TUMHE BHAANG KE PED PE CHADHA RAHEY HAIN…OOOPS SOORRYYY AAP TO PAHLEY SE HI WAHAN CHADHEY HO..AUR HAAN JINOHNEY FILM DEKHI HAI WO LOG MAR GAYE HAIN…AB SHAYAD WO KABHI HATKE FILM DEKHNA PASAND KARENGEY WO PHIR CHUNRI UDHANAEY WALI FILM DEKHENGEY…YEH CHAMCHE BAAZI SE BAHAR NIKAL AUR CINEMA BANA JO INDIAN HO JAHAN SE INDIA KI KHUSBOO AAYE…ITALI AUR GERMAN KE LIYE MAT BANA WAHAN ALREADY BAHUT LOG PADEY HAIN..NAMASHKAR TUMAHARI PRODUCERS KO PATANEY KI GUTS KO SALLAAM KARTA HOON..TUMAHARI WRITING AUR DIRECTION KA FAN NAHI CONVINCING KA FAN GAYA HOON:((:d:-?:o
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admin note: John/Maggie/etc… Please do not change names and comment faking as different people. Using (513) and (514) to fake names and pretend you are two different people is misusing PFC’s comments sectionsHI ANURAG…thanks for your statutory warning…Cigarette smoking is injurious to health, family, eyes, ears,fingers, holes…tch tch…
better luck next time.
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JOHn i pity u, its shows ure thinkin is so limited man .. hahah.. well anurag 5 thumps up to u .. ths is our am janta john(513). so lame, borin and limited. never want to expand there vision and thoughts. u change how movies mad in india.. u change gangstar movies by ure amazing script like satya, u brought somethin based on true events fr book.. n now no smokin.. u movie changes movies in india.. wait ppl will follow ths genre and first even in the list is ures.. keepin makin different movies. we all r with u.. John(513) plz think bigger n come out fr ure lazy lame thinkin …man o man…. hahaha .. i cant stop laughin at u .. :d
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@John ,
Dude ..why comment on others ..if u didnt like the movie criticize it but not the film maker and others who have apprectiated it …you sound so childish ..grow up man ..grow up ..
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516 comments and 7891 views! Wah! Let’s imagine out of this 7891, 50% have been repeat viewing…so, let’s assume around 3945 people came here to read your article….I guess almost everyone saw the movie and that’s why it inspired them to come here….ok…
The price of a ticket in a Multiplex was around 200 bucks…I guess no one saw it in second week so let’s calculate according to first week rates…So Rupees Seven Lacs and Eighty Nine thousand! whoa! Not bad…
When do the trade guide collection reports come out?
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Bravo Anurag…..
I truly believe from bottom of my heart that NO SMOKING is the real beginning of truly unconditionally (arrogant) experimental cinema in this country…
It took us around hundred odd years..to arrive at
But Anurag I must congratulate you..
Eventually somebody has shown guts in this country to make CINEMA….
Vaibhav
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@Machchar
15 crore movie makes 7 lakhs and you are happy :D. NS’s fate lies in DVD sale. I’ll contribute from my side. Looking fwd to DVD release.
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Hi Anurag,
Just a quick note to say that after watching No Smoking I admire your work more than ever. I don’t know why I kept going back to Harold Pinter and his plays especially The Room and The Homecoming. As a matter of fact, the ending of No Smoking is similar to The Homecoming. I am not sure if you have read any of his plays…he like Saul Bellow extensively deals with the issues of Disintegration of Self, existentialism and of course the territorial dominance in his creative works. I rarely blog but I had to let you know that I simply loved the movie…(technique/presentation/story…everything about the movie was just exceptional).
Thanks for making No Smoking.
-Monica (CT)
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Hey !Anurag,
I think only movie u made good was Black Friday and second one Satya which was written by you.
No smoking is hopeless movie :-((((((((((( thumbs down…………i think u should not make movie just for sake of doing it………..
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hi anurag,
i loved the film. thanks fr making it, it was awesome, one crazy freaking trip. i cannot stop thinking about it-cant remeber the last movie that had this effect. i’d loved the story also when i’d read it but the film is even better, though normally films based on books are quite a disspointment. really looking forwards to yr next….
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Hey Anurag,
“No smoking” i would suggest is one of the few movies in Bollywood that really introspects you.
I see a lot in common in Hollywood movie “The Game” . Everyone please watch it if u come across the movie.
I belive this is what we expected when we saw “Batman Begins”, we hoped it would be a run in the park superhero movie. Christopher Nolan made it look a Masterpiece. A “DARK” one i suppose.
I would sum up “No Smoking” as “MindGame”.
Chill everyone this is “Mindgame”
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I would like to thank the reviewers who rejected NS, gave it one and a half a star rating etc
for they are just reiterating the point the film makes by
proving how we are ‘controlled’ into a slumber into believing that the escapist mush that goes under the name of popular cinema is what we need-
and have to oppose it publicly and convince others too / make a call to a friend and sell him the prayogshala program.
to vision, to a genuine voice, to Anurag– keep working, keep fighting.
nadi
when exactly was it that we decided to conform to, even be agents of the system?
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hi anurag ji i m jayesh tulsiyani i would like to sign u for one subuect. my cell no. is 9967272212. i m sure that the subject will u like & i m ready to work with u on ur terms & conditions. if u give me a call or some time than i hope that we will sure do something creative. as u r doing regular. for more detail u can mail me on my mail id is ajay_tulsiyani[at]yahoo.co.in or ajaytulsiyani[at]gmail.com. my cell no. is 996727212.
waiting for ur reply,
keep smilling,
jayesh tulsiyani
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Maybe the most indians critics are not ready for this kind of Movie. They are searching for the message and when they don
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There may be a david lynch, a kafka comparison, but post watching the last shot(K in front of the mirror , 2 fingers down) I went through the same emotions like I did after reading Haruki Murakami’s ‘wind-up bird chronicle’(post norwegian wood)and fellini’s ‘city of women’. And what was that, NOTHINGNESS!
I have been trying to find answers to two questions: first, this one is getting absurdly relative to me off late, what is good and what is bad (especially in the platform of arts and artists) and is there anything good/bad at all in the first place. Second does the audience need to comprehend whatever the artist makes, and that too exactly in the same manner as the artist wants to convey. Now to give a fuller shape to the above questions; does audience comprehension/ acceptance or lack of it leads to definition for what is good or what is bad.
Given my confused state of mind I definitely cannot say if I liked no smoking, wind-up bird chronicle or city of women. They may be great works of art but I am probably not lateral enough! But I can defy that, I enjoyed bergman
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bhai tumhai picchur bahut hi acchi lagi,
humne suna hai ki aap kuch hanuman ki sanima bana rahe hain,
hum bhi thoda bahut aisa sanima banate hain
aapko accha lage to pleej humko bataayiegaa,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jzj6K4A8WHM
amma babuji ko pyar,
khat likhte rahiyega
dhanyawad
aapka
bises
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ANURAG U DON’T SMOKE CLASSIC MILDS…U SMOKE PRODUCER’S MONEY:d
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@Priya,
Arrogance is not great all right. But what else does hypocrites deserve?
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@Priya,
But agree on you with the need for ‘positive’. Have come across some people, of late, who thinks AK should make a blockbuster next. They sound like they believe he can.
Anurag sir, are u reading?
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all the critics with their tiny brains think they are gods… i think they are… :D
,,!,. ’s to the boys who sat and did what they get paid for…
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just saw “om shanti om”
(in singapore it got released a day before)
i am a hardcore shahrukh fan , but the film has disappointed me.
Film has a fantastic first half, but a dragging and bore second half.
They were trying to pay tribute to karz(towards the end), but it seemed like a cheap imitiation.
shahrukh was hamming big time in second half with his oh iam so cool attitude.It does not suit him any more.
best performance of films are from shreyas talpade and arjun rampal.
Film may become a bigger superhit than “mai hoo na” ,but mai hoo naa was much much better.
but 1 thing which I really like about farah khan is her idea of making entire team come on screen when credit rolls at the end and that includes even the spot boys , light men etc – really commendable.
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hey anurag, i have a small request to make…
when “black friday”[dvd] came out, i was really upset with u for one reason…there was no audio commnetary…if a filmmaker is tryin to express somethin or i’m sure tht with each part of the film,esp the technicalities,u have some experience to share…but none of it was there…i mean u r a film buff too…i see a lot of foreign flicks as well,n most of them have director’s commentary…not fair…don’t u wanna share some info with us…it becomes a personal kind of opinion…n it makes the film a lot more interestin…
my request is tht along with the filmmaking,it should have ur commentary section….please..the technicality of the film is superb..infact,Aarti Bajaj(who also happens to be ur wife,if i’m not wrong) has done a fabulous job…i just love the way the introductory section of the film was designed..the colour effect,the smoky effect on the names, and i love the background music throughout the film….how all this was done,the technicalities,a lil secret to share with us…tht’s the reason y i’m askin for the commentary…i wish u had included tht in black friday too…i’m very upset with u for tht reason…i saw no smokin for the second time…n i really liked it..
thnks a lot
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look…any expression should be enough…What is this? A REVIEW OF THE rEVIEWS? AS LONG AS YOUR PRODUCER HAS/NT ‘OFFED’ YOU YET, WHY WORry?
Khalid to Chutiya hai , sachii…Par tu kya hai Bedu?
har arrogant aadmi ke paas aapke jaisa karodon ka budget nahin, Indulge karne ke liye…Kafka ka kaccha na utaaro, aap ko bhagwaan ka waasta !
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Frankly, I’m not even surprised at Khalid Mohammad’s and Taran whoever’s reviews.
If I remember correctly, khalid mohammad turned down Haasil, too, against which Anurag wrote an article.
Well, fuck all that. what im surprised at is how anurag kashyap could top black friday. Before everyone goes after me, consider this: Black Friday was a factual film(adapted from a book) while No Smoking is sort of an independent effort – (keeping in mind some inspirations).
For me, it goes right up alongside films like Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi and Black Friday.
And someone called priya talks about arrogance spilling out of the film and “arrogance can never lead to progressive accumulation of knowledge” after mentioning bergman, fellini and some other great film makers in the same breath.
Now, that leaves ME with a feeling on nothingness.
:-?
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Dear Anurag,
Thank you for making the truly brilliant “No Smoking”. I am personally in debt to you.
I know critics have reviewed it badly. But fuck them man!
I am a nobody. But let me predict that this movie is going to be a cult classic and although you may be spurned as a Director from the mainstream film industry, for fans like me who care about good cinema, you have come as a godsend.
Don’t lose heart if junta punishes you, critics berate you and producers harangue you. You are a genius and such is the fate reserved for all great artists.
You may have lost some producers, some money, some sleep but you have gained a DIE HARD FAN in me.
If I have money tomorrow, I’ll gladly produce your film in the future. But given that your luck isn’t good, I am broke.
Accept praise from a humble fan!
Yours Truly,
Nanga Fakir
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Below are some of the questions i would love to get answers from Anurag himself. But for the time being someone has tried to anser them.
Reproduced from the orkut communitiy of “No Smoking”
1) Wat was his relevance of his dream in the Snowflake Mountains with soldiers captivating him?
the dream is a mans subconscious choice to do something very badly .. (smokin in K’s case ) it shows that he wil allways choose doing wat he loves even if things get tough .. he is mentally prepared for that ..
2) Why his secretary & his wife (Ayesha Takia) was the same character?
this is a personal reference .. anurags wife is his editor .. this movie is really personal .. infact too personal ..
3) What does cutting of 2 fingers symbolize or signify?
this is symbollic of the prise that u hav to pay if u do something that goes against the norms of the society .
4) Wat does the 1 rupee wanted by Paresh Rawal mean?
well some ppl claim that if u do things exactly like they tell u then u can do wat u want .. but the point is that then it wont be wat u want .. paresh is someone who posseses the power to seperate the man from his desires and then he can giv them back for a small prise .. but the prise is such that no one can pay .. or no one does ..
5) Was a new character of his CIGAR TYCOON friend necessary for the story?
no .. i dont think this character was necessary .. but it jus helped the story as he needed to show an event where K has to smoke even wen he did not do it n pay the price .. cud hav bin some other scenario .. but this one was ok too ..
6) Wat do the 2 policemen symbolize in the story? Were they real or his imagination?
the 2 policeman symbolize the process of victimising the creator for his creations .. they are just pawns and cant see wats really happenin ..in a way they are the enforcers of Baba ..
7) If the whole treatment/cure of his SMOKING was his Souls journey, than his two friends who tell him about this Baba Bengali, were they too his imagination or wot
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Anurag Sir, loved the movie. It was pure entertainment throughout. U just cant predict what’s gonna come next. Rajiv is the only critic whose reviews i like to watch out for…. but i was disappointed by him this time. Usually we are in sync… Me and my brother loved it though i think movie slackens its grip a bit, just when it starts getting a little confusing, just about 20 minutes before the end… Maybe I will understand better when i watch it next time.
Keep making such movies…..
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hey anurag, congrats dude…
after watching your movie, i feel like indian cinema has made its entry on the global scenario…such an intelligent story-line, so beautifully told with enough amount of complexity so as to match the real world, fantastic use of symbolism, great use of sarcasm and sarcastic humor and matching music….must congratulate vishal bharadwaj as well…
i understand that it was extremely difficult for you to get such a movie made and over that, get it released, i think you must be happy with just the fact that you atleast dared to make and managed to release this master-piece…as the story goes in mumbai mirror,mr. vishal bhradwaj helped you out by offering to produce the film, hence he too deserves appreciation (of course for the music too as i’ve already said)….i think and hope that once you’ve played your part sincerely, as you have, the film will reach its audience, however scarce it may be…..congrats once again…
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For the last few weeks we have been either criticizing no smoking or those who criticized it on PFC.
For my money, no smoking is one of my fav movies in last 5-6 yrs. I’ve watched it 3 times now. Of course, it does need that much amount of viewing to decipher. I think it is that kind of a movie which needs to be discussed and collectively decipher to enjoy it fully. Also, it is much more enjoyable in repeated viewings.
My guess is that it should have picked its reputation up, but for the biased criticism it received here.
Anyway, it’s high time we shared how we interpreted the movie.
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The opening scene sets the tone of the movie by quoting an existential quote of Sinatra, thereby making us aware that much of what happens might be happening in K
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The opening scene sets the tone of the movie by quoting an existential quote of Sinatra, thereby making us aware that much of what happens might be happening in K
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The baba is the devil himself, this I am pretty confident of. This is verified by the dialogue where he states
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Now the spirit-less K awakens in his own universe after already paying the price.
He now does what he has been told to do in order to get his fingers back. He has now decided to conform. Exactly opposite to what his soul told him before the opening credits- nobody tell me what to do.
I know it
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Anurag,
Loved your film No Smoking. Already watched it 3 times. After first 2 times I came to understand what actually happened in the movie. And then after reading this post and various comments I realized this was something beyond my imagination [-( . And so I watched it again and I have to admit that this is one hella movie. I loved the music of this film, esp the last song ash tray.
Unfortunately most of Indians are used to watching big movies like OSO on big screen, light hearted entertainers. So may be good movies like this might never get full acceptance. So I was wondering how can movies like these survive and then I thought of this idea. I think in the future if these kind of movies get worldwide online release along with theater release, then may be they would probably make more money. I know many might hesitate to watch this movie on big screen, but nobody would mind paying $5 to watch it online. And imagine even if 70,000 people watch it online, the producers would recover their cost. That would encourage more producers to allow directors like you, Sriram Raghavan and many others to make many such movies.
Sirish
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want to read “when god said cheers” plz can i get the script anurag? i cant afford a tom alter play because of price and availability (student) if it allright with you ………waiting in anticipation
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my first visit, though hv been planning to visit this page since long..n wen i saw u at hawain shack this evening, first thing that struck me was passion for cinema…
i really appreciate no smoking…but also feel taht it lacks a populist appeal..since the audience today in india isnt ready for such cinema..and the so called men of letters will brand u esoteric…though partially i do sympathise with the ticket buyers who have a sterotypical expectation from John Abraham and the sensuously canned promo song involving the gorgeous lady(bips)..they feel cheated and their bucks(theatres nowadays have become a costly affair)wasted…..as far as i understand the cinema in india since its very inception has been touted as a vehicle to escape from the reality ( from the big bad world) to a fabricated wonderland. people usually are reluctant to philosophize(hope this word exist..but am sure i made my point) in the cold dark hall…thinking for them is in the lights that lies behind the red exit sign…so once the veiwers intellect is challenged in the dark..he feels cheated..(that reminds of my childhood..a friend of mine, with the intention of testing me always asked questions from physics(he thought he was a much better physician!!)usually in public..i never answered one… though i had the answers, instead i use to get irritated, ithought he tried to prove his supreority over the subject)
but surely…cinema in india should travel beyond the realms of escapism..attempts have been made, is being made..its a kind a revolution and at present few filmakers like u are the mast bearers in educating people about the vast diaspora of the cinema…it will take time and remember not everyone will appreciate but definately it wil be a good business proposition..atleast for the sake of art… u cannot give a child a bitter tasting medicine for cure, he’ll spit it out…the medicine has to have a sugar coating for a while..let these kids grow into adults and then the time might be right to inject…in the meanwhile turn your deaf ears to the quaks..
cheers!!!
(sorry i think it took a mile to press my thought, next time i’ll try not to be overtly generous with the words)
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Hi
To all those who think they dont understand the movie i would say go f**k urself. I think this is one of few “movies” per say bollywood has produced. i think it will take people atleast 10-15 years to understand the genuinity of the movie.
The best part of the movie was it was open to your interpretation. How you think of the movie. For a smoker it can be thought of as a fight for individuality as Anurag has stated with his exaggerated blog. But also for a non smoker like me i can interpret it in a very different way and still be correct.like i can say that the movie is the portrayal of the “laws of nature”. “what goes around comes around”. what i mean here is nature in many form (“baba bengali”) make you learn from your mistakes the hard way. In movie this dude “k” was getting illusions “my interpretation” of suffering to his family and wife(illusion proved cos in last scene his wife is sleeping with him so she is alive). much the same as cigarettes which not only kill you but the smoke also kills people around you ie your family and friends. The nature tries its best to make you understand where your going wrong. But if are the laato ke bhoot as ‘Paresh rawal’puts it in the movie. Then you cant be changed. in that case you have lost your soul anyways and it doesnt really matter where you live or die. that is stated by this line “ATMAA HAI TO SHAREER ISHWAR HAI AATMA NAHI TO SHAREER NASHWAR HAI”. So you have lost your soul anyways to your arrogance and self centered attitude. therefore your just living a life with know purpose.
This is the undertone message i get from the movie. and really it might not be the same for any other guy watching the movie. he might relate to the movie in a totally different way. this is why the movie is different and better than most i have seen this year.
The guys who didnt understand the movie,i dont know what to say to them “you lack brains get your brain outta your a** and think” is all i can say in humblest of manner
I don’t think even Anurag might have even thought of the movie in such an angle before making it. The kind of flexibility it has offer is amazing. this is the sole reason why its way way beyond Black Friday. I think black Friday was overrated it was good but not a piece of a genius as it was slotted to be. So in that term Mr. Anurag Kashup. You have had your share of fame and life balance out your good and bad dead. you may sometimes get away with murder(no reference to mahesh bhutt here :D ) and sometimes you might be jailed for a good dead that is life. that is what happened to you dude. So you shouldn’t be complaining.
I am saying this because i repeat i found the article very exaggerated and hypocritical. On one hand you say, i make movies for myself which is totally fine by me. In fact dude i would like to worship you for that. But on the other hand you get disturbed emotional and agitated by others comments. “You like to live your life the way you want it to be” Then then why in the world worry about public scrutiny. How the f**k does it matter to you what people say now if you didnt care about them when you were making the movie. Dude this a direct request to you to clarify your stand. You either care about public reaction or you dont. I dont mean to be judgemental but the problem with you is that you are not sure of what you want. In either case i give a damn. If you cant open up and answer it in public atleast answer this question to yourself, man. Why give a damn about public if you are an idealist. why.That point i am making was pretty much evident when you made black friday you wanted it to be you and your thoughts at the same a blockbuster which made it a bad movie. i repeat BF was not a good movie. But No smoking is a very good movie not a clasic but a very good attempt i hope people 10-15 years down the line realize the potential of the
OZ or watever ur name is you can remove the last 2 lines if you want, but i would still want to say it
PS: To the Khalids and tarans with no adarshs grow up guys i no you people do this for the food which is also essential. But ill give you an advice dont mess with stuffs which are beyond your understanding capabilities.
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hello Anurag..
i liked ur film..
hope u will direct sumthng soon again..
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Just wanted to ask Mr.Kashyap, the film seems to suggest that you are quite inspired by works like “the trial” and “the castle” by Franz Kafka. Is that true? Like did you have “K” from “the trial” in mind while you named John’s character? Or did you think of the whole bureacratic setup of “the castle” where “K” fights against the bureacracy only to fall a prey to it? Just curious. And btw, great film. Kudos to you for even trying to make such cinema in India.
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hmm so i need to read anurags blogs to understand the movie in full or the ending whatever ….seriously do u think this can happen with every movie u direct..we watch it dont understand it then get some inlightment frm the director on his web site …no wonder u dont have time ….makin movies n explainin them as well rofl …keep it up dude
me liky
but what abt the aam janta u know every body dosent have the INTERNET :(
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When our intellectual pricks..oops..our intellectual critics…call Sanjay Gupta a Desi Quentin Tarantino, what can we say?
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well, i’m new to PFC, and am completely tripping on the posts here…
kudos to no smoking…. what’s wrong with arrogant filmmaking!? i celebrate it!
and come on! who ever understood tarkovsky? and wasn’t 8 1/2 fellini’s arrogance on full display!!
no smoking is a trip, and i loved the journey… within me and without. would have loved to re-watch… can’t wait for DVD release!
cheers, anurag… full support!
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Dear Anurag,
thanks for making that movie… loved it
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Hello Anurag,
me again… if you have 10 minutes to spare
… a film I made…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQzDrjjMAAo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2JTymco5Ew
sorry, couldn’t resist…
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Hello AK, saw the film finally and I did not hate it nor I liked it that much. Overall its about much more than just smoking, but it was sympathetic to smokers. Especially when John’s soul takes the final shower, like the one the jews take in the scene from schindlers list which anjali was watching, shows some sort of ethnic cleanising of smokers in society. Perhaps your first choice to have shahrukh play the lead somewhat makes sense in this regard, although John was at his best in this movie, maybe I think Shahrukh being addicted smoker in real life might have added some soul to the character and also brought some natural arrogance. Also I liked the whole Amway take on recovered smokers, although I feel like punching one of those amway ppl whenver I see them in real life.
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Anurag
I better be honest and accept that getting the movie in my venticle was quite a difficult task. Yupp.. After reading this article I have eased down as honestly No smoking has given me troubled time. It challeneged my imagination and strength to understand. When all efforts went in vain, I visited your profile on My space and wrote a harsh mail.. Ha haa..
Yupp.. Now probably I believe I needed to understand the motive or say to get the movie in the direction where you wanted it to be.. I was deprived of that imagination.. Ha ah ..
And yes.. As far getting audience is concerned, I took my 2 friends along to watch it.. So seee.. I did marketing for it… Although repercussions came hard on me..
Long Live Bro… and Keep twisting these buggers sitting there and lashing ou… KM… HA aha
Gaurav
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Thanks for not changing your views and being what you are as a filmmaker.
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Hi Anurag…. when I watched no smoking there were just two people sitting in the theatre- me and my friend who went with me…it was the second week…inspite of reading all reviews I could not believe that a man who made ‘black friday’ can make a bad movie… and you kept up to the expectations rather I am no one whose expectations you need to keep I suppose you most definetly kept up your own expectations….kudos boss
Its a brilliant piece of cinema…I always thought no one in india will ever make movies like this… I used to crib about Indian movies being so superficial whenever I watched ‘being john malcovich’ or ‘eternal sunshine of the spotless mind’ or ‘amelie’….. Indian filmakers are probably scared to look inside themselves or to make a statement.
I loved no smoking I wanted to catch it once more in the cinema hall but it was out in third week… busy schedule couldnt catch it.
I just loved how tactile the film appeared, it felt like as if i can touch the objects in the movie,the texture was on my hands…i felt so clastophobic when John was going down the stairs to reach baba bengali… no movie has ever brought out these emotions in me i mean how can i feel clastophobic just by watching a scene…you rock anurag…..
I loved your movie…you know what I can keep writing about your movie for hours but I want you to read this mail fully which you might not if I make it too long…:)
I know it might be too much to ask but can I get in touch with you somehow….please if i can atleast get an email id, my id is posted along with the comment…. looking forward to talking to you….
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Finally! an indian movie which is as hideous as brilliant.
No smoking is like vanilla ice cream with ketchup on top…I have not and will not look for an ‘understanding’ of the film, individual parts speak to me: the mirror in the bathroom, the sublime entry of the very rich into slimy slums…yet the mai-baap of all is an addiction,not the characters. You’ve tried to merge surrealism with an audience’s reality, and I respect that.
However, the dual role of the wife-secretary baffles me, would love to know the idea behind it.
You dont need to react to your critics, most of them don’t have the balls to stand up and say they couldn’t make head or tail of it.
Hope to see more
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Anurag,
I saw your movie recently…i did not like it, or dislike it, but it did make me think about things that i usually don’t.
I understand that K does not want to succumb to society’s values, and the ciggerette is a symbol of that. But the more fascinating question is that why K clings on to the ciggerete. K apperars cool and confident, but really he is fighiting a losing battle against his own nihilism. This is evident in the way he treats his wife and peeople and things around him. His greatest strength, his individuality, is also his greatest weakness. It a dilemma, on one hand it is merging into the masses, and on the other hand is to face existential hell.
The solution that is proposed is to clean all the layers of conditioning and return to the childlike state. But really, is that enuf…what prevents it from returning to the same state as before….i guess he has to keep cleaning himself everyday, rather than fall into the abyss.
As a side note, the reason why the movie did not do well (aside from the complicated narrative) is because india has not been hit by “modernism”…and the problems of nihilism it creates. That is the reason why noir films are appreciated abroad but not by the general indian public, because most people do not face the dilemmas of “existence”.
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Let’s begin with a few facts –
“Taran Adarsh and Khalid Mohammad will never understand what No Smoking is…”
“A decade later Indian junta will drool over No Smoking as one of classic thrillers ever made…”
“If gotten a DVD release(nationwide not just Indian stores) in US, this will surpass money collected by top 10 blockbusters(2007) of India..”
Someone said that Anurag Kashyap should accept his mistakes like Ram Gopal Verma does. My answer is, sure, but is there a mistake? I watched No Smoking and the moment it ended I wanted to see it again..It’s like “The Shining”, “Jacob’s Ladder”, “The cell” and several other mind bending thrillers where you watch it, interpret it your way, talk about it, discuss it, and then watch it again.
Indian public will never like this, well we don’t innovate because we believe why reinvent the wheel. It’s Ok and smart to do that but that leaves us in a state where we don’t want to exercise our brain and if someone forces us to do that we get irritated, upset and disgusted. That’s what happened to our dear critics and as much as it is unfortunate to say I would have to say that happened to most of our junta.
I wouldn’t have doubted a bit that the movie would fail in interiors, but all people who call themselves intelligent, smart and claim to take India to next level, should like it or rather should have liked it. But all doesn’t end here, atleast it gives India a genius director(Anurag Kashyap) who will be to Bollywood what stanley Kubrick was to Hollywood.
To sum it up I would call it “A very very engaging film”.
Note: I wanted to add this as a seperate article but it turned out too short for it.
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can i share a story with u if u interested sir
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Dear Anurag,
Black Friday was mould breaking cinema. And so impressed was I that I made sure to recommend and in some cases pressurised friends to go watch the movie to instil values of good and meaningful cinema. This does not override the need for fun cinema like Om Shanti Om in the least. I guess all film makers and films have their purpose and sense of accomplishment in pursuing their own styles. No wonder your field is more creative than any can be. No grudges then for making a film like No Smoking which perhpas has drawn more negative reactions than your previous film. But these films have marked you out as an out of the ordinary filmmaker who will come up with more creative efforts in future. It was then a bit sad to see you taking off on Khalid who is among the best critics in the country today and we readers have never gone wrong in following his advice on preferred films save a couple of them. His box office failure with his own films is no cause to write off his understanding of films. He ,if I remember right gave you 4 stars for Black Friday which incidentally prompted me to rush to the theatre to watch it and I was not dissappointed.
To call him names and to be cheered on by nameless writers who hide behind pseudonames is a little unbecoming of you , a sure shot candidate for being one of the best film makers in India who could take Indian cinema onto the platform of world standards.
Comments on Karan Johar on your site too are unbecoming. I would urge you not to allow the darkness of misdirected cheerleaders cloud your brilliant vision and do an encore on films like Black Friday or perhaps the Unreleased Paanch.
Quit focussing on allowing negativity to rule your heart , as disheartened by criticism at your latest work as it is , and get on with your body of work.
warm regards and a lovely new creative year to you
navindutt
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anurag NO SMOKING is an excellent and first of its kind in INDIA.I am proud of it.it is the best movie of the year so far and very naturally most didnt understand it.I feel u 2 expected that.Only 1 thng a want 2 b xplained is that “why ayesha takia was cast as both the wife and the secretary?”Any particular reason behind it?
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hi anurag,
my first post on pfc. in fact discovered it only a couple of weeks ago . have seen no smoking
. my opinion…. well all those bought up on rahuls and prems run as far off as you possibly could. this isn t for pseudo cinephiles quoting polanski, kurosawa , de sica and the likes just to amuse uninformed behnjis and bhailogs .this is for those who are bored with pretty much everything they see on screen small or big. this is for people who genuinely love cinema. my 2 cents its surreal , slick , stylishly cathartic . if you thought kubrick had a really odd sense of humour then mr kashyap is kubrick on cocaine. kudos anurag. im startled it even got made. and ecstatic it got made.
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Hey Anurag…
Ain’t sure whether you will read this post… anyways… in case you do.. please read this review… http://padmajathakorereviews.blogspot.com/2007_10_01_archive.html
I am sure you will appreciate it…
I didn’t like the movie but I loved the way you made it… anyways this post is about the review I came across.
regards
Alok
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Hi Anurag,
Had no idea how to get in touch with you but I just had to write to you how much I loved ‘No Smoking’. More than that, I loved the fact that finally we have a filmmaker willing to defend his art against ill-thought out criticism.
I recently saw ‘Idiotocracy’ and I would strongly recommend you watch it, if you have not already. The fact is that in today’s world people generally simply refuse to think, particularly when it comes to entertainment. I am all for mindless masala cinema, but I also believe true art must make you think. Cinema is a unique medium that can peek through the layer of the mundane through enacting a potential other-world. Cinema entertains; good cinema is food for thought. And ‘No Smoking’ is what cinema should be – an attempt to look beyond mass entertainment. I hope mainstream Bollywood and Hollywood comes to realise that the world is not full of idiots alone, but constant dumbing down will lead to an idiotocracy!
Cheers
-Saurabh
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I must say after reading your interpretation i was much more clear about what you meant ..but i found your movie very gripping and interesting even if i did not understand the second part.it was indeed one of its kind and very intelligently made movie..the sense of humour in display is amazing..keep up the good work anurag!
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Hi
So your movie is termed weird, but then best of the works have been termed so. Think of Taxi Driver.
Anyways I am all for weird (hat ke)stuff. To be frank I haven’t yet seen No Smoking, but I am gonna do it today. You sure are different. I am still waiting to watch Paanch, the theme is pretty close to my heart – sex, drugs, rock & roll, and some more. Damn to so called democratic system. Anyways you can show me the movie, when I am next in Bombay…nee Mumbai (what a waste)
Param/:)
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Hey Anurag,
Just completed watching no smoking, must say i was caught off guards!!! I would suggest releasing a dvd version with your commentary. This movie must have been exhaustive and a lot of thought put into it gets lost. I am curious to understand your thought process in composing a few scenes and also look at any edited material that would have added to the movie.
Cheers!!!
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http://www.rediff.com/movies/2007/nov/15rs.htm
Raja Sen’s take on NS. The below lines made me laugh aloud. Good one!
The ultimate pretension lies in creating an artifice and imagining it has meaning. You don’t get it, we don’t get it, but hey, somebody could read layers into it. Hell, somebody could read layers into a Mr Bean episode, man!
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Like someone said above, it will take people 10 or 15 years to appreciate the movie. But they will.And the movie will change the stream of Hindi cinema. Good luck K
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I keep procrastinating when it comes to blogging about No Smoking (having personally loved it to the hilt, saw it thrice, have got my own interpretations from the movie which more or less concurred with this article and I have some more ideas which I would like to treasure as my own perspective) but I admit, I do find Raja Sen’s take on it interesting. I disagree with it almost word to word, but somehow, I find it a reasonably honest article. A point of view. The other perspective.
Anurag, I’d met you on the last day of the screening at Fun Republic – the day before OSO and Saawariya’s media blitzkrieg hit the multiplexes … I do intend to write more later, but yes, I’d like to agree with those who’ve demanded a director’s commentary and hopefully an even bigger insight into the scripting of the idea and movie, rather than only its filming.
For me, the best movies of the year are No Smoking and Johnny Gaddar (I love both … can’t decide which one I like more), followed by Bheja Fry, Manorama SFU and the first 70% of Jab We Met. And of course, Chak De India was super fun. It’s been a good year I think … :-D
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Hey Anurag,
We both idolize Ayn Rand..So you will immediately get my meaning
In Atlas Shrugged there’s this author called Louis Cook (or something) She writes gibberish & calls it a novel. Ellsworth Toohey declares in his columns that only the ‘enlightened’ ones can appreciate..& people start believin it too..
Are you becoming Louis Cook now? You started out to make this film out of an arrogance to show what a great story teller you are..The same reason for which you slammed Bhansali’s Black is now applicable to you. .Just like Bhansali in Black started out with an arrogance..you are now showing the same level..
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I loved the film Mr. Kashyap. It was mind bending and surreal like a dream. I love to replay my weird dreams after I wake up and find bits of filminess in them. This was a similar experience. At many points through the movie I said to myself “What a weird movie” and I loved its weirdness. For me this was an art movie, 80s style, made for the current decade and much more faster paced than the 80s art movies.
I read your reactions on your rediff online chat interview with the general audience and you said your movie failed, you were wrong about the audience and you won’t be making such a movie again (unless we provide funding :D ). That’s very unfortunate because I’m sure art movies of earlier times found their audience and their makers didn’t regret their decisions. This movie is a niche movie. I do feel it had some shortcomings in some scenes (many movies do) but overall it’s a good watch.
P.S- I found your putting Hitler’s speech with sirens in the background on the doorbell in Siberia very dramatic and the artistry behind it delighted me. Ditto for it being the ring tone of Baba Bengali’s cellphone later on. Can you tell me which speech of Hitler that was? I ask because it’s the same soundtrack that a very favourite WW-II based PC game of mine (Medal of Honor Allied Assault) opens with. In fact I’d like to have it as my ringtone too for a couple of days haha (I’m not a Hitler fan! I just find his this speech audio sequence very dramatic!)
Again want to let you know Mr. Kashyap that I am one of the audience who liked your film and appreciated the “art” in it. Would be hoping and waiting for more of such films from you and other filmmakers! All the best!
Bye!
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Sir
i liked your “black friday” (havent seen No Smoking) and I can understand your angst, atleast superficially. but this is the industry where you have chosen to make movies and unless you do not have a box office cracker it is going to be equally tough for your forthcoming projects too. a sloppy OSO does well because it is telling wat we already know, a character’s conflict and some retribution discounting the sacrifices and lo you have a best seller and all the people involved are happy. the price for having balls, sometimes, is having nothing better to do than scratching them. hope you get to your OSO type ka story soon so we get to see the real stuff sooner.
MDMA is like a comedy, you see, you laugh and you forget
But LSD, is like an intense dark movie, you change. – paraphrased from anon.
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typo – unless you have a box office cracker
but sometimes… if you are a KJO either rules apply
logic is really strange
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DVD with commentary please.
i’m lovin’ it!
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Well Anurag Sir you are right….look at these critics which give movies like Om shanti Om 4 stars/3 stars etc etc…..OSO is one of the worst movie ever…..even jab we met which was hardly an average movie they gave good ratings….i think you didnt do wat directors of classic movies like(om shanti om,KKrish(crap),jab we met) etc did that is suck up to the critics
I felt No Smoking was a good movie…but it was not as good as black Friday…..surely it deserves at least 3 stars……i think the movie flopped because your movie was meant for multiplexes and multiplex janta usually sees reviews and goes for movies……
Well keep up the good work…dont give a **** about critics…make more such good and different movies…god bless you
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So i found myself in front of the ticket window @ PVR juhu, an hour before the show. The movie had barely survived the first week. Everyone had ‘warned’ me not to see the film as if was planning a trip to pakistan.
The guy behind the window said that please come after an hour as the show might be cancelled. When i asked why he said, no tickets have been sold. I said but i want to see the film. He said, come later, 5 minutes before the show. I eventually bought 2 tickets just so he wuld not shoo off other people from the film.
There were 15 people in the theatre two were makin out behind me (i guess they had not come to see the film). The first half sailed smoohly and i was wondering why people disliked the fim. It was only the last twenty mnutes of the flm that made me realize that the last few minutes of the film were damn selfish.
Why do i have to know anurag to understand the film? Why do i need to know what he has been through, to like it? Why can’t i be that man in delhi, who entered the theatre expecting to see ‘interesting’ cinema by a random film maker, and still like the film.
At the same time i understood that Anurag voiced his inside through this film. I am glad he has taken a stand to not type his screenplays with just his index finger. Looking forward to more from him, though this time i want to see the film for the film and not him.
By the way tomorrow i fly off to pakistan, but this time i didn’t have to buy two tickets.
ciao for now
ankur
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Hey Anurag,
I saw No smoking yesterday and felt like smoking a couple of cigarettes when I moved out of the hall. I am a great admirer of your work – whether it’s TV serial DESI JALLAD or Black Friday. No smoking is a different kind of cinema. I didn’t understand what exactly happened to the script after 30 minutes. My mind was constantly trying to understand the turns and twist in the movie. In one word it was unbelievable. It was amazing and bizarre at the same time. I enjoyed it and kept thinking about it for the entire day. I liked the concept for the first 30 minutes until I saw Ranvir putting back his finger in his hand.
Anyhow I will watch it again to understand what exactly happened to K and whether Baba Bengali was a “bharam” (creation) of his mind.
I am writing a story myself – its a horror flick and is a story of a man (who works in a call center) and his wife.
Anyhow I am and I will remain an admirer of your work.
Best of luck for Paanch – I am sure it will see the day of light soon.
Vivek
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Hi Anurag,
I saw it today …
Am still engrossed with thoughts … of it ..
It’s a kind of movie 5 people will watch and once it ends .. not even one’s interpretation will match the other’s .. forget about two different viewpoints ..I am sure that even if i watch the movie again (which i surely will).. I’ll get a different interpretation …
And that is a great way of film-making …
I adore you more for NO SMOKING than for any of your previous works .. although Black Friday too was class. but that according to me was more in the league as they say ..
and that is the reason why ..the lame audience and critics digested that ..
It’s simply brilliant … as per me ..
Please don’t ever stop making films for yourself .. coz ..there are people like me ..who have similar viewpoints.
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After reading 20 odd comments I am compelled to write one of my own! I saw the movie a few weeks back and frankly was in awe of many scenes. I knew something profound is going on there but couldn’t pin-point what exactly. Was sure that will be enlightened by the end but that didn’t happen. Still it was good. Different. Appealing. But to label the audience dumb (not by A.K. but by some of the people here) is totally unnecessary. The people who made the film had the concept of what it was all about. They could see meaning in each and every frame, but its impossible for everybody to have the same sensibility, for everybody to ‘get’ the film!! n if that were to be the case then in that world either we won’t have a “No Smoking” or it wouldn’t be so original!
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Awesome! Very good message. I hope more people watch your awesome movie and quit smoking. Here is a nice review of your movie. I’m sure you’ll like it much:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0995740/board/nest/89417083
I think you should make more such bold movies.
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