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No Smoking: In Anger
No Smoking : Reviewing the reviews
With every new step or change, the resistance to let things be is vast, seemingly impenetrable and caustic. With every change, the elements that are dependent of the object of change have to twist, contort and uncomfortable step out into a new zone. The object here is No Smoking. The elements the reviewers.
After reading this article, Mr. Prithviraj Hegde at Rediff will become a huge star. Mr. Taran Adarsh a super star. For, they have all that is needed to bring in the dawn of the new era of cinema critiquing.
Reading Mr. Taran “on the hole” Adarsh’s review has today enlightened us that “Cinema is all about three Es — enlighten, educate and entertain”… a derivative of which is as follows: Many of India’s critics are all about three Ss - Stupid, Shitheads and Shanpatti (Hinglish: Smartass).
Mr. Taran “on the hole” Adarsh continues with “What ails NO SMOKING, did you ask. Simple, it’s the most complicated cinematic experience of 2007. Agreed, the director’s intentions are noble. Cigarette smoking is injurious to health and Kashyap wants to highlight this message loud and clear via his new movie. But what has Kashyap come up with? ”
My question to you Mr. Taran “on the hole” Adarsh - did you really think the movie “ACTUALLY” was about quitting to smoke? There is nothing more to ask you because right on the above paragraph you have confirmed to me that you truly are the critic of today and your fundamentals of cinema reviewing are precariously balanced on the three pillars. Stupid. Shithead. Shanpatti (Hinglish: Smartass).
Please hold on Mr. Hegde at Rediff, your turn will come soon. The wait will make it more sweeter, more pleasant when your turn arrives.
But lets get back to Mr. Taran “On the Hole” Adarsh. Your next paragraph reads as “NO SMOKING leaves you exasperated and disgusted. Exasperated, because till the end credits roll, you just don’t know what happened in those 2 hours. Disgusted, because Kashyap had solid backers…”
Exasperated? (a.k.a. irritate intensely, infuriate) If you didn’t know what happened in “those 2 hours” - let me help you out. You did not receive a good “Incentive” in those two hours to write a good review, which you have many a times in the past. You did not receive any help to help you out of your living in the well existence so far, which “on the whole” would have exposed you to a broader cinema that you obviously give a convenient miss to all the time. You did not receive any help in “those 2 hours” that would assist you in understanding the kind of cinema, one of the firsts in India, that you have “on the whole” have no knowledge, experience, intentions or motivations for.
What happened in those two hours and in your subsequent review, Mr. Taran “On the Hole” Adarsh, is you as a reviewer have left me disgusted (not that I already wasn’t) with the picture that many of the frontline reviewers in India are also the cogs in the wheel that will not let change happen. The whole square area of the reviewer’s intelligence is but a tiny particle of the cinematic intelligence, knowledge, imagination and creativity that exists outside this small well you exist in and are content living in.
If so, should progressive cinema take a break till, Mr. Taran “On the Hole” Adarsh, educates and enlightens himself with the broader span of cinema that exists way beyond the 0.9% knowledge that you possess about it.
Mr. Hegde, didn’t I ask you to wait. Please hold still, you turn is next. Let me have a nice chitty chatty with Mr. Taran “On the Hole” Adarsh.
So Mr. On the Hole, where were we?
Oh yeah, your review. Your last line reads as “On the whole, NO SMOKING fails miserably. Very disappointing! ”
Fails miserably for whom? The watchdogs of Indian cinema (that is you Mr. On the Hole, in case you missed the point that you are a reviewer), who failed miserably to understand the whole experiment. And why? Cause Mr. Taran “On the Hole” Adarsh has not heard or has not seen the works of Truffaut, Gilliam, Trier, Lynch, Kafka, Fincher among others. If you found No Smoking “exasperating”, you will definitely find the works of most those mentioned above - perhaps a pointless exercise in stupidity. Good. Now mention that while standing in Cannes (which I’m sure you heard only after Bollywood reached there) or at an Independent Film Society or gathering or festival or for that matter any European cine-phile club or society. I wish you luck in coming out unscathed.
Is this what we have in terms of film reviewers? The appeal of the film on an individual level drives the review? So what if the reviewer himself is a cinematic illiterate, half assed knowledge individual? Shouldn’t the regular tools of a film appreciation course be used to review movies minus any peanut sized pin headed grasp or lack of it the reviewer - in this case Mr. Taran “On the Whole” Adarsh may have?
Hell even when I was asked by Anurag himself on how I liked the movie, I in the crowd of fifteen was the only one who said it was “ok”. Because it isn’t one of my tastes. But that doesn’t take away what the respectable genius that is in the movie. Of course the movie has problems in my view which lie in the flow and plotting the dots.
Two weeks ago IndiaFm called me with an offer to integrate PFC on their site. I remained non-commital and asked for a detailed proposal enlisting a plan they had in mind. Sorry, but if eggheads and pin heads are what they have on their team, PFC is not gonna be touching them with a barge pole.
Now to you Mr. Prithviraj “Pinhead” Hegde.
“What was the director smoking?”… to answer that question you have to first read the article on PFC - ‘Movies to watch when stoned’. It may if at all give you a glimpse of the kind of cinema fanatics, hard boiled literature romantics and followers of the surreal art, magical realism that exist in the real world. I guess, your journey in cinema so far has been ONLY around you, Bollywood, people in your life who only know “Bollywood” and Mr. Taran ‘On the Hole’ Adarsh.
So my question to you Mr. Prithviraj “Pinhead” Hegde is - ‘What peanut sized boss at Rediff gave you the job to not recognize the peanut sized cinematic brains that you possess?’
Before you attempt to answer the question, please do pass on this application to your boss…
“Dear Rediff Editor,
I oz, solemly swear that I have a more smaller peanut sized brain than your existing critic Mr. Prithviraj “Pinhead” Hegde. I always assure you that if you replace Mr. Pinhead and use my services instead, I will work for Free for the rest of my life in writing reviews for your esteemed website.
Regards,
oz”
Now Mr. Prithviraj ‘Pinhead’ Hegde… thanks for passing the letter.
“The movie begins innocently enough.” What does it mean? Really? Innocent as in virgin innocent, humanely innocent or some other kind of innocence that you have to stuff it in to make your review stand at the 500 odd words requirement?
“If this is the much touted noir genre of filmmaking, then two hours of this is enough for me.”
Hmm, so if I take you and Mr. On the Hole, with me to watch “Mulholland Dr.” - you may end up slashing your wrists than be subjected to more than 20 minutes of the movie. What if I take both of you to watch “Inland Empire”? God knows you both may first kill me and everyone around you, cause you won’t be able to take it. Worse if I take you to a Pulitzer book reading session. Would the books being read out there be called crap, simply because in your words “And as you may have gathered, I still have no clue what the movie was about. And quite frankly, I don’t want to know.”
You are the lost brother of Mr. On the Hole it seems who again has not had much exposure to the world of cinema and I doubt to any of the non Bollywood cinema that is produced in our current times. What do you mean by “If this is the much touted noire genre of filmmaking” ??? Does it mean it was your first foray into this kind of cinema? Does it mean you dared take a step today to watch something which did not involved ‘Main tumhare bachche ki maa banne wali hoon’ or ‘Main tumhara khoon pee jaoonga’ or ‘Nahin nahin yeh khushi ke aansoo hain’… it surely seems so.
Well guess what? WAKE UP!!!
“Stay as far as away from this one”
What ethical and moral right do you have as a critic to pass this judgement onto others, a judgement that is based on your incompetent knowledge and grasp on cinema that exists outside the blindfolded walls of Bombay? What right do you have to subject your website to a ridiculous statement like this simply because you, like Mr. On the Hole, have not yet opened your eyes to what exists out there.
There are two different things which I will try my best to educate Mr. On the Hole and Mr. Pinhead on.
There is a difference between a movie that does not appeal to your senses and a movie that is pure crap.
Both of you esteemed reviewers have a convoluted mixed up confusion that erupts from your review. For both of you :
A movie that does not appeal to your senses is pure crap.
Noir, Narrow appeal Cinema and whatever you call it, is just like cheese. It is an acquired taste. You don’t like it the first time you have it. The reality of this is true too. American and Europeans have grown up on cheese. We haven’t. Many of us Indians hate it. And that goes to cinema too.
In your case you haven’t been exposed to the World of Cinema (God only knows how you passed the interviews). And hence No Smoking, which is your first taste of cheese hasn’t gone down well your throat.
So is the cheese crap and you go out screaming “don’t eat it” ???
It may not be the best cheese, but then say what was wrong in it. You can’t. Cause you have never tasted it before or have no experience of it.
And there in lies the tragedy. Cause who the fuck gave you the opportunity to taste the cheese and review it?
Until that exposure and the following knowledge of International Cinema seeps in, you two shall remain Pinheads on the Whole.
No Smoking has it’s own bag of faults. It has it’s own cheese like taste won’t go down everyone’s throat. But the intelligence and genius in it is undeniable. You two, with your incomprehensible, narrow understanding, shallow knowledge and a discouraging attitude to World Cinema, just put your names in Indian film history. Congratulations. Now pray, the movie does not become a cult favorite or a few years down the line it is not regarded as the first of it’s kind to herald Noir inside the borders of Bombay. Cause if it does happen, you two won’t be far down that page as those two pinheads who opposed the wave because of their diminished knowledge of cinema… on the whole.
113 Responses to “No Smoking: In Anger”
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LOADED.. bt i appreciate the way anurag kashyap tinks n tries to put them across.. bt smhw.. the film was a bit messy towards the end.. too heavy to take it fr tht long..
John was awsme..
Direction was smtin i wish i cud learn frm..
cheers..
Waiting to watch this movie!!! Btw, looking at the reviews is the movie related to withdrawal symptom dreams???
I think finally we have our own Lynch!!!!!
Its sad to see same person reviewing every friday release with the same pennyworth set of vocabulary. Its time we say NO. WHO CARES ABOUT YOUR ‘on behalf of the world’ views??
Fuck Off!
Only words for all those critics or reviewers.
Social Message…take my ass. Why is somebody morally responsible to deliver a message every time a movie is made? If you are foolish to wait for two hrs to wait for a sermon to come, them so shove the so-called criticing up ur ass!!!
Watch the movie and shut up i.e if u are saying the things that you are. The movie is not responsible to deliver a message.
Feels ressaured to see you back Oz bhai!
wooooo… i was looking at the review of this movie since morning over different websites…
but this review about the reviewers ROCKS!!!
@ravptor, very apt and mildly put, to say the least :)
^:)^ oz! buddy you spoke the language of pfc,as far as critics are concerned they all are bricks in the wall!brainless tumours surviving on the shit fed to them by the so yrf n sons!
Mr. Know-it-all Oz - I am not a fan of Taran Adarsh and do not even know Pinhead Hegde… But I frequent this site and have been doing that for quite some time. And what I have been feeling in the last few days only becomes stronger with this review. Give a review - do not review the review!!!
Is this still Passion for cinema or is it “Passion-for-what-I-call-cinema” or “Passion-for-intellectual-cinema” where people just take carnal pleasures in putting down the mainstream cinema.
I have not seen No Smoking and am not even sure if I ever will. And frankly, yours is the first article on this site that vaguely mentions that the movie has some faults. Overall, the tone of the website has become “We are the intellectuals of the society and bigger snobs that KJ or SRKs of the world”. If you dont like a movie that is made by one of us - you suck!!!
And believe, this attitude of this site now has started to suck and suck bigtime.
Getting back to “Passion for Cinema in Cinematic form” might be something you want to consider.
Review the movie and do not review the review!!!
yes doosri “Neha Desai” kidhar se aa gyai?? :o
why give so much of importance for Taran Adarsh …. tat too in PFC ,
if he rates a movie bad i usually go and watch that !!!
he also said that “manorama six feet under” was bad and disappointing !!!
well OZ i dint understand Mullholland drive ;) may be i need to get more exposure !!! but when i started watchin movies i thot of it as an amazin medium to tell stories !!! but MUL DR just went like a bouncer .., if neone can write a spoiler for that movie .. i wud appreciate the effort .. it would help me and many others understand why it is so well received !!!
personal view is that .. we need not bother about these critics , if u had sooo much to write about them .. that shows their words made some effect … make their views and reviews NULL or VOID. that would indirectly help indian cinema.
Ah .. The bashing session starts. Again ! :-w
Either (a) bash PFC
or
(b) bash Anurag Kashyap
or
(c) bash K.Jo./SRK/Yashraj
“behte huen paani mein pee karke aao”
Shreyash - Oz’s opinion is not PFC’s opinion. It is HIS INDIVIDUAL opinion. If you have a counter opinion, write a fuking article and send it to Iview. Why start this overly done and then again overdone discussion on PFC’s attitude ?
oZ BHAI .. my comments got stuck in your filter, it seems .. can u check
- George, we are in the same boat. Lynch’s movies don’t hold a grip over me, but that doesn’t take away any of the genius that exists in his movies :)
- Shreyas, I would prefer you call me “Say it on your face” oz. Don’t agree that we should not hold reviewers accountable. Every one is. Even me if I get paid to do something. And don’t agree we are so anti this and that. who’s WE? PFC is made up of readers like you. And all there is - is anti bad films that’s it. You have to give PFC a lot of time to see how all sides and views are spoken here. You’ll also find an article by me where I’ve praised YashRaj and in particular Aditya for his business acumen a year or more ago (that was before they released some real bad movies). and lastly I don’t know it all, and there should be no shame in saying that you don’t know it.
Oz bahi,Dil kar raha hai ki aap ka chumma le lu,great article.:x
Main kal movie ke liye jaa raha hu aur apne dosto se gaali bhi khaa raha hu ki tumme “No Smoking” ka ticket kyo liya.
Lekin “junta” ko naye taste ko identify karne me samay lagta hai,yaha bhi yahi hoga,galib ko bhi samay laga tha ek mukaam paane me.
Hum mediocre log hai aur humko wahi gulami pasand hai,hum bas wahi juthe prem kahani dekh ke kush rahana hai aur sayad aage 100 saal tak kush rehenge.
cheers for No smoking amurag and i know you are our next Bimal roy.
Bravo, oz….
I wont blame Hegde sahab, he himself agreed that this is the first time he heard of Noir :D.. TA has heard only two things: films for hoi polloi and films for niche audience. Later I call neech audience. :D His holes needs to be plugged. :d/
ya true OZ , well its with a lot of respect for the director and his work that i seek for some insights into his creation.
Neway i am not against reviewing the review or the reviewr cause i feel everything can be and must be reviewed. But i find it kinda silly that we give those guys so much importance and dedicate an exclusive article in PFC to show how bad they are in what they do !!!
@shreyash
JAB WE MET i believe has all the flavours of a bollywood movie and i believe it cud be considered as one of those mainstream movies … and i have read sooo many posts abt JWM in pfc and on how good and refreshing it is … so i dont think u r ryt when u say that PFC is against mainstream cinema … and look at the votes that OM SHANTI OM has got …
and i also believe that pfc is a totally public forum and its run by us .. so if u feel its against the mainstream movies its urself and many like u to blame for …
neway all cheers mate … we here love movies and all here are driven by the same love for movies !!!
bravo!!
Mr turrtle, this is precisely the attitude I am talking about. If someone had written a similar piece as I had written - critisizing KJ / SRK / SLB (or any one from the so-called other group), you would have added a point to it and possible said BRAVO!!! Since this was anti-PFC, you asked me to write a “Fucking Counter point”. This is precisely my point!!! And I hope you get it now. As fas as writing on this site is concerned, I don’t think I am a good article writer. Some people write, others don’t!! I prefer to read the articles and watch as many movies as I can. So having a point / counter-opinion and writing it as an article are 2 different things. Just because I am not a good writes does not mean I cannot write my opinion.
Oz, I agree to what you said that PFC is more than this article. Infact the article that you wrote earlier (SRK, YR etc zindabad ) was a breath of fresh air after a long time on this site. And since then, it has again been us-Vs-them. And frankly, you seem to be the most non-partisan person in the community that contributes articles to this site (and this time I won’t use PFC since you mentioned that people like me also make up PFC).
And after reading your reply, Say it in your face suits you better but possibly does not suit the point I was trying to make. Again, as I said earlier - I am not a good writer.
NO SMOKING = BAD BAD FILM. Anurag kyshap haai haai. Badien badein baatien….very bad yaar!
OZ,
How can those two ‘holeheads’ read this article?
Anybody knows the Mr On The Whole’s email id?
I would really like to take him by the skin O’ his teeth to read this article. But even after that we need a few Richard Corlisses to really have a good standard school of movie critics.
Regards,
Cubicle Bound misfit
I saw today Karan Johar’s angry reply to Anuraag Kashyap’s comment..I think Karan is just embarassed that some1 has spoke the truth abt his stupid chat show…he just ass licks all his friends..dats all the show is for…
@Stienbeck
Dude if you dont like the movie just say you dont like it, WTF is this ” Anurag kyshap haai haai”? Is that all you can do??? and write some thing more about why you didnt like it ??? I would appreciate that
@Oz
Mr Taran “on the hole” adarsh and Many of India
I was disappointed that Raja Sen @ rediff did not review ‘No Smoking’. He is a guy who generally knows his cinema. In fact, he didn’t review any movie release this week.
Take it easy, OZ:
The following is a quote from a UK reviewer:
“It is, in general, quite demented.”
Review: No Smoking is a colossal disappointment”
is Masand’s verdict on CNN-IBN - a Network 18 Site which announced a Anurag’s film.
I have not read one review that said good things about it except on this site.
The movie has been made. It is out there playing. Let it be. I don’t think anger is of any help at this point. Grace? Maybe!
@Shreyash - I dont think it matters to PFC whether you are a good writer or not. I think it matters, if you have something relevant to say or not.
Let me re-state my comment - Lets not blame “PFC” for having “ANY” attitude. Its a collection of people of all kinds and opinions, man. If you can “see” an attitude, it maybe that most of these people are saying or feeling the same thing and they are voicing it. If you have an a counter to that, voice it. Blame an author or a commenter. DONT BLAME PFC.
I am totally agree with oz.ur words r true.this r the asshole critics they don
@George
For Mulholland Drive - check out http://www.mulholland-drive.net/
Well, who cares about these guys? The real one has to be Baradwaj Rangan, and him ALONE.
oz bhai you beat me to this….i was thinking of doing a similar article on this same topic later today…but good i didnt..else i wouldnt have been able to read this wonderful straight from the heart article….
How stupid can the reviews get…gaaaawd…not one reviewer is talking about the second half..not one reviewer is talking about the metaphors…not one reviewer is talking about a new genre that is getting started here..” you gotta see the movie twice to understand this”….no fucking wonder we do not produce worthy movies…and no i am not saying No Smoking is great….wen i saw the movie..i had mixed feelings…for the first 10-15 mins i was speechless..and then i had a ton of questions to ask..why this…why that….andd that was the beauty of the movie..it makes you ask questions…that is healthy…but just because some stupid ass reviwers cudnt understand it…you give a movie a fucking zero star? you must be smoking something Mr.Hegde…or you might have been bitten by oxen on ur ass and you went ” andaaaaaa” instead on ” ambaaaaa”…
Rajiv Masand’s review reminds me of Roger Ebert’s outburst on Lynch’s Lost Highway (though it went on to become a cult).
The first half was awesome..but the second half..esp. the last 1/2 hr…just totally lost it…As Rajeev Masand said ..it was more of showing of cinematic excellence & over confident approach…Do understand that its a movie for niche market…but I am afraid it would be toooooo niche’.
The movie is a big maze..it is a puzzle…a puzzle which you can sort out after you come out of the theater with lots of Qs loaded in your head. The moment i came out….everything started to fall into place. Crazily Brilliant…very very wierd…absurdity…Yes respect absurdity.
@gunasekhar:
Well said. It seems to always become a mudslinging match. Those for AK and those against his work. Its not about the movie which , you suck-ups have to admit, was universally disliked. Try to be a little balanced and review the movie on its merits. Epithets are not going to cut it!
Guru, I wouldn’t call this mudslinging but brining some people to account. If there have been any other incidents of mudslinging you have to realize it’s between cine lovers and cine lovers on a platform called PFC. Here I have nothing against Masand or even Khalid Mohamed (who I felt wrote an overlining revenge but the underlining was a slight reminder that he once was there along with the legendry Iqbal Masud) - in the reviews they wrote. There they mentioned they didn’t understand it and clearly it was not for them (in sarcasm or in direct). But here the reviewers are passing a diktat that such movies are crap and should not be made.
???? ????? ????? ???? ?? ??? ?? ??????? ?? ?? ??? ?? ???? ??? ?? ????? ???? ???? ???
hey oz man thanks…it was not a big secreat that at the end of the day this blog was coming,and that too after such a fiasco of the film which was going to consider AK gestalt .
From what the reviews were stating ,it was due from u…Anurag must be a happy man that PFC stands on three c’s….chamcha,chamcha’s and more chamcha’s.
U must be feeling like a godfather at this momemt smirking at urself. Today u are Reviewing the reviews,
i wonder where was ur blog when, On PFC u all were reviewing LMCD & Bhool Bhullayia,last week.
Where were ur these Adjectives “On The Hole” & “Pinheaded”.I wonder this so called”Reviewing the reviews” didn’t came when these “On The Hole” & “Pinheaded” were reviewing “BLACK FRIDAY”.
I am Proud of this PFC Stalwart that he tried to change the face of indian cinema but failed…but at least he tried.he actually came forward and done that what most of us are just complaining about….,As Someone Rightly stated this man gave us both the best film and the worst film of the year(now dont expext to mention names).He dont need all these backup..i am confident AK will be back with a Bang Soon
with due respect to u Oz….This kind of blogs shows the dual standards that pfc’ians have.look at the comments at ur bolg,i wonder no pfc’ian disliked the movie ,they are so intelligent,all going ga-ga over his film.
If u have a heart to criticize a movie of other’s then why not of pfc member.And please keep these adjectives to ur self,COZ the adjectives can be far more engregious.
THIS BLOG CLEARLY SHOWN THE PEOPLE OUT THERE PRAISING U ON THAT ARE BUNCH OF BAD LOSERS.and this disturbs me because i m one of avid PFC fan.
but as kabir said
“neendak neare raakhiya aangan kuti chaway
auron ko shetal kare,aapahu shetal hoy…..”
divyabh, agar aap gaur karen humare article par, toh aap yeh janenge ki mujhe yeh film sirf theek thak hee lagi hain. Mera guss (jo us waqt tha pur abhi bahut shant mahsoos kar raha hoon) un vyaktiyon par hain jo kharab movie aur experimental movie ka antar nahin jante. main yeh nahin keh raha ki movie sweekar karo, bus yeh ki agar aap is society ke film reviewer hain toh aapko world cinema ka gyan hona chahiye jo upar diye gaye udharnon mein bilkul nahin milta. is liye humne cheese ka udharn diya tha. comment ke liye bahut shukriya aur aapki baat bhi humare samajh mein aa gaye. kripya is article ko No Smoking ka defense na samjhen.
@ Guru
“Try to be a little balanced and review the movie on its merits. ”
Do pass on some of ‘The Golden Rules of Movie Reviewing” to us, and please also help us understand what does ‘little balanced’ mean. Does it mean we say, “well the film was not great mmmmmm but mmmmm it was not that mmmmm bad either”.
I am not going to fret about those reviews cos I expected that and I think many of us did. How many of us thought that Taran Adarsh would rave this film?! He thinks Anurag only should be making a film like Black Friday! He is a hypocrite. I doubt Anurag would be disappointed by his review. In fact, he would/should have a wry smile on his face, for messing up some of the critics mind and making them sound like a complete doofus.
I actually found some of those reviews hilarious, as they sound so idiotic and stupid. It is not because of the fact that they aren’t intellectual types of critic, but those reviews aren’t reviews!
No Smoking was going to get unreasonable bad reviews after Anurag gave bollocking to everyone and because of PFC. That was going to work against him and the film, albeit him being correct most of the time. Also what was with them promoting this film as it will create a new genre?! That was just plain dumb.
Anyway…
AKaficionado, there is no room to have a discussion if you are gonna sit in front of me with a pre conceived notion that PFC is a ‘bunch’ this and that. Who is PFC? It is you, me and all those who write here as authors, iViewers and commenters. PFC does not have a office, a morning meeting and round table conference on whom we are going to attack, defend or praise today. If you feel I have spoken in defense of the “quality” of the movie then yes I have no right to write this article. It is not. It is against those who have written scrambled egged reviews with no clue, inclination, knowledge of the likes of those referred in the movie or its genre or noir. - But if you feel I may be wrong in my thought, please let me know so.
If you are labelling me as a “chamcha” aka ass-kisser or something on those lines, you are again not reading “all” of PFC but just specific sections (I suspect only those related to Anurag) cause I myself have run down Anurag’s Paanch rather mercilessly. And here too I have clearly mentioned I just found it “ok”… so your chamcha statement is another thing I’ll disagree upon.
Now regarding LCMD and Bhool Bhoolaiyya, if a hue and cry were raised on PFC, - I did not understand your statement. Are you suggesting I should have come out in defense of those movies? But I seriously didn’t enjoy them. If they were Khosla Ka Ghosla, Kabul Express or even Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Ghum (yes I enjoyed this movie) I would have. But not for a movie like LCMD or BB that I didn’t.
Regarding your statement on dual standards… PFC has no standards. If it did then PFC would have only those authors who would write exactly what I wanted. All comments would first go through a moderation process and only those in favor would come out in print. Anurag would be sent a cello tape to stick on his mouth and I would be put on a leash.
None of that mercifully exists.
I would suggest you come to PFC regularly and commit some time for your passion for cinema in reading all articles and not a select few, for each article is a different individual having his/her own perceptions, tastes, choices, attachments and aversions. That individual isn’t PFC, but all of you readers, writers and iViewers are.
@oz
But like u, cant the reviewers have opinion??
Y dint u write “reviewer’s review” when they bashed dhamaal or dhol or cash??
Maybe indra kumar was ‘experimenting’!!
With all due respect, THIS BLOG WAS BAD IDEA ..
Actually, this movie was BAD IDEA…
Man, the stage was set. Anurag to show YRF, KJo etc how movies to be made… n he makes No Smoking. I can imagine YRF, Kjo laughin their arse off… Situation stays same..I guess u can make a movie on this story..
I m movin on to ‘Taare Zameen Par’
oz ..good to see you back..your absence was felt here…i am sick and tired of everything…liked the movie…its still trickling down…next time i watch it…which i am…i am gonna have mr.old monk for company..it will help me delve a bit deepr fr sure.
Parth, yes they are completely entitled to. But opinions are based on a minimum strength of understanding. there wasn’t any in my view. and it wasn’t an opinion as to what I read and still reading it feel - it was passing a diktat.
On your example of dhamaal, dhol, indra kumar’s experimenting - do you seriously think so. See that’s what I’ve mentioned. There is a difference between a movie not appealing to your sense and a bad movie.
Again, if you think this was a bad idea, it is your view and I respect that. But if you think the movie was a bad idea, we can’t decide for Anurag, since we don’t share his sensibilities, his drives and his motivations.
Yep TZP is now the remaining hope for this year that is if I’m missing anything else.
There was no need for such a article. Why get so personal with reviewers when all that they are doing is voicing their opinions. My understanding of movies doesnt match with any of the reviewers, except perhaps Rajeev Masand of IBNlive, but still I dont blame them for coming up with such reviews.
Hello Mr OZ
Hello People
I am confused.
Will someone please help me understanding the end.
Is John dreaming or everything is just his imagination.
Please Please Please help me
This movie leaves me with a similar feeling I experienced after watching
Sunil, If I tell you the end - the true meaning of the last 40 minutes, it will be unfair on those who haven’t seen it. Please wait for a few days. And I’m sure my understanding will be very different from someone else’s :)
@oz,
I read your comment under AK’s article that Taran is going to hate this movie. Why this outburst against him then? Lets see what you have got to say abt Khalid’s review
Azad, regarding the first part of the comment. please put in a link so I can see what I said and in what context. Now on the second part, I’ve answered this in @34
@ OZ
Dude I know you dont want to reveal the ending for others
But dude please tell me…atleast what you feel
I wanna understand the movie to enjoy it more…….everyone may have a different interpretation but I wanna know as many as possible.
If not here mail me on sunindian2001@yahoo.com
Or add me online and let me know
Please man I cant sleep without understanding the movie
My apologies OZ, it was OM and not OZ who wrote such things. Sorry, I got pretty messed up. Have been doing a lot of catching up on the articles and comments so got confused.
AZAD…please help me in understanding what you are sayng…i may clarify
And yes, I agree with your point that if a reviewer did not like a particular movie, he should say so, rather than stating that these kind of movies should not be made. But should not these hold true for movies like LCMD, BB, Hey Baby as well. Why issue diktat against these movies. I didnt go out to watch these movies, but when asked for an opinion on these, I clearly mentioned that these are not my kind of movies. Dont you think that same rules should apply to all.
@OM,
I was talking abt your comment#7 on AK’s article “Tommo or it today”. Well, I got confused between you and OZ. You had predicted that TA will not be able to understand the movie. If that is the case, then why show shock when the expected happens. But I am sorry for the fact that I mixed up your comment with OZ’s aticle
Azad, the answer to these questions takes us back to two points, one of which I’ve mentioned in the post which is the neutral capacity of a professional movie reviewer to segregate between bad movies and those needing acquired tastes. Both reviewers clearly or in a subdued manner lay out that they have not been an audience to the specific genres and indie colors of cinema experience. hence in my view how can they review a movie, a genre they have not seen before. It is like giving an an untrained, unexperienced teacher of history the examination papers of students who gave the history exam. On what basis without the knowhow will the teacher rate the papers? LCMD, BB, Hey Baby here do not belong to such unexperienced genres and the reviewers, as mentioned by me, are in those zones that they have been existing in.
Now about rules. There aren’t any. If human logic would be applied then each day would be uniform image of the one prior to it. Another answer to you rules question would be a close derivative of the first paragraph above.
OZ, your logic holds true only when you have defined set of rules for each genre and style of film making. Most of reviewers of today come with a pre conceived notion about cinema and they desperately try to fit it in one genre.
And ideal example of it would be Home Delivery. It was bashed up most a bad movie, but here in the pfc, I have found someone praising it a lot.
Azad, so true. and it doesn’t support the good for cinema when with reviewers as per your definition. it is sad. but true.
thats the beauty of PFC, even I didn’t enjoy Home Delivery but someone on PFC did so there you go. I’m sure there will be a review on PFC where someone absolutely hated No Smoking. It goes back to the question I ask often Who is PFC? It’s you me and every goddamn lover of cinema reading, writing, commenting on this site.
Madarchod! You are back! I love it! Been way too long bhai! I knew something would eventually light a fire under your ass.
Just read the review of Khalid Mohammed. It leaves such a bad taste in the mouth. He seems to be more interested in Kashyap’s blogs and interviews rather than the movie itself.
@Tushar:
“Do pass on some of
oz,
be ready to defend NO SMOKING from the reviews of critics like mayank shekhar, sarita tanwar, naomi dutta-omar quereshi, komal nahta, amod mehra…and many more…luck to you!
Ricky, the problem is first I have to defend half reading sickness that exists in your comment. Please first read the entire article and the many comments then you may not have had to leave that comment.
In someways, yes, I do agree with the some of the views express here in the comments. PFC goes over the top when it is Anurag Kashyap. Not that I don’t like anurag Kashyap, it is precisely the opposite. I loved his Black friday and badly want No Smoking to work Coz the other alternative might mean it will be harder for him to make films and that is unacceptable.
At the same time, nobody is above criticism and if at all Anurag is going to get some positive rational criticism it is here. Don’t kill him with his over Chamcha giri. You are probably fascinated by this genius filmmaker so approachable so straightforward(atleast I am).
But he has kinks and it is extremely important for us to point the same so that he can survive and we can get our thirst of good cinema quenched a wee bit.
Like I am afraid that No Smoking might be a movie only a hard core movie buff can understand. Such people make only a miniscule of the population. Is that enough to sustain an audience. Majority of the audience don’t breath, eat, love cinema.
I am also afraid about his shooting way too many words. But that is him. His personality. He has to battle with it and learn it himself.
But at the end of it, as I said I want his films to do well so that I get to see more good films as well.
By the way where is Raja Sen from rediff… why did this hegde guy write this time… Sen’s gonna love it … i know… and btw i just wanted to say this for a long long time..and this may not be the right platform to say it…but i am gonna anyways… FUCK RAJEEV MASAND!!!!
reading these posts…i find an analogy in the situation (not the ppl…bt the roles r similar ;-))
mr.kashyap ~ roark
pfc ~ dominique
critics ~ toohey
media ~ the banner
seems like the stoddard temple trial…
am yet to see ‘no smoking’ not yet released in this part of US…
In a way, it is good to hear Taran Adarsh trash the movie. Taran Adarsh is harsh on commercial movies which have messed up their “earning potential”. But he is harsher on those movies which are too heavy for his brains and which do not fall within his parameters of “commercial” or “non commercial”. I was more dissappointed with Rajeev Masand trashing the movie as I expected him to at least “appreciate the effort” which he had begged us to do when he was justifying his liking of KANK.
just an observation, rather analogy….
mr.kashyap ~ roark
critics ~ toohey
pfc ~ dominique
media ~ banner
the situation ~ stoddard temple trial
am yet to see ‘no smoking’…not released in this part of US.
Well,I just stumbled across PFC for the first time and has quiet an interesting repertoire.
After watching late night show of No Smoking I have been running wildly across internet sites waiting to find out reviews, comments and questions I had after watching the movie. Though the movie did’nt quiet excite me I was eagerly waiting what the reviewers had to say. Reviews after reviews thrashed the movie with reasons ranging from mainly childish to say the least to unusual something like testing audience’s patience.
Some were even bizarre than the movie itself like “Do not go if you are expecting a typical hindi movie”. Now where on earth have movies been defined by set of rules or standards. These reviews are in fact more regressive and retrograde than the movies churned out week after week, friday after friday. And this really painful and embarrassing when it comes from so called reviewers, people who are supposed to not just know cinema but the latest trends, style and genres of film-making.
Sadly in our country, cinema is more of a representation of entertainment than art. A person paying 100 rs + at ticket window wants to fall into simulated impractical emotions built year after year..and now i can say generation after generation. Anything which breaks his dream while he has his magical 2 hrs in that dark hall he hissees, pisses and swear.
Hi!!
First I don’t understand all this critic’s bashing by Oz and Anurag … let them do their job, if people like ur movie, the reaction will be there for everyone to see …
The important thing is … IS ANURAG KASHYAP A PRODUCT OF OVER-HYPE OR IS HE REALLY AN INTELLIGENT FILM-MAKER????????
Well … I’m sorry to say that all his recent film writings have fallen flat be it the dialogues for Shakalaka bomm boom, Main Aisa hi Hoon, Yuva, etc….
Anurag seems to be surrounded by a large group of chelas who have become his world as they keep praising him when he requires a really good self-introspection …. is he making these movies for himself or for a wider audience …
People like Oz who are too smitten by Anurag’s work … don’t understand our country … Art is just a mirror to the times of a society it prevailed in … its great that Anurag found peole to invest in his film … his world and his heart is full of darkness and that is what he wants to dish out to us …
Well, Anurag … sit back and enjoy!!! Why is this need and utter compulsion to prove that u r a genius … till the time people are buying tickets to watch movies, we are all nautankiwallas … bhaands …
CHEERS!!!!!!!!
JACK
Well,I just stumbled across PFC for the first time and has quiet an interesting repertoire.
After watching late night show of No Smoking I have been running wildly across internet sites waiting to find out reviews, comments and questions I had after watching the movie. Though the movie did’nt quiet excite me I was eagerly waiting what the reviewers had to say. Reviews after reviews thrashed the movie with reasons ranging from mainly childish to say the least to unusual something like testing audience’s patience.
Some were even bizarre than the movie itself like “Do not go if you are expecting a typical hindi movie”. Now where on earth have movies been defined by set of rules or standards. These reviews are in fact more regressive and retrograde than the movies churned out week after week, friday after friday. And this really painful and embarrassing when it comes from so called reviewers, people who are supposed to not just know cinema but the latest trends, style and genres of film-making. The problem is if I place Eternal Sunshine of Spotless Mind at 10, I would say No Smoking would lie something around 5-7. But suppose I take another genre “comedy\dramas” like As good as it gets and rank them as 10 where would I place duds like Salaam Namaste Ho or Heyy Baby. I might have to go into territories behind 0.
Sadly in our country, cinema is more of a representation of entertainment than art. A person paying 100 rs + at ticket window wants to fall into simulated impractical emotions built year after year..and now i can say generation after generation. Anything which breaks his dream while he has his magical 2 hrs in that dark hall he hissees, pisses and swear.
And for creativity or godd cinemas I guess you do not have to look some thousands of miles across the atlantic ocean. Our fellow asian countries are nowadays making far more superior movies than hollywood itself. They have managed to break free of the stereotype martial art movies and given classics like OldBoy, Infernal Affairs trilogy to name a few. But alas we are still stuck in our so-called USP “song and dance” routine.
We need to change and it is high time. We not only need to change as filmmakers but as viewers, critics everyone.
i feel the reviewers are right when they say NS is a bad film.i watched the movie yesterday and i could not believe this has been directed by someone who has earlier given us a film like BF.No Smoking was a bullshit.
this whole movie reviews is a farce.. none of these guys be it khalid mohammad, taran adarsh, nikhat kazmi are good. Rajiv masand is kinda ok.. but he also screws up quite frequently..
anyways why do these guys have to come up with a review on day 1. let people watch the movie without any notion.
i for one prefer watching a movie with a fresh mindset..without knowing whats gonna happen in next few hours. so dont read any reviews before watching a movie..
Anyways i think these guys deserved a bashing and thanks OZ for the brilliant article.
there is one instance of movie review i remember is by Mr Khalid. he gave i think no stars for the movie ‘Love ke liye kuch bhi karega’ just because they spoofed him in the movie..
gonna watch No Smoking this evening.
Amen
I watched the movie in Inox Nariman the late night show
I had been waiting for this movie for ever it seems and I finally got the opportunity to watch it, Upfront i admit i dont get the whole movie, i understand bits and pieces and am still trying to piece it together..i will most probably watch it a second time before i comment on whether its good or bad…
but a few observations
a. People who take things literally should never watch this movie, its not for them and they will inevitably come out criticising it
b. dont expect the aam junta to understand it, when Anurag Kashyap made this movie, he made it knowing it wont be for them so he really shouldnt be expecting the box office to respond
To be honest, overall its a shame the message wasnt clear in the movie promos which came across quite “commercial” ..
waise i will definitely write in what i thought after i have seen it again…
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2007/10/26/bfmoore126.xml
hey oz check this, its the link to telegraph.co.uk
and the reviewer calls it ” THE USUAL BOLLYWOOD MOVIE” and that the movie is “DEMENTED”
@MindBreaker
There is nothing wrong in fooling aam junta. It will make some extra money :D I think the use of media to hype the movie as a possible commercial movie is a good one. The target audience seems to be liking it and any extra takers (by hook or crook) is a welcome bonus.
I have to wait for the DVD as no theater is going to show it here :(
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!
oz - if you remember fight club by david fincher was given a bad review & rating by most international critics.in fact the dvd guide has given it a 1 star rating.we know what a fucking awesome film fight club is so, no smoking has no worries. it has taken it’s first step towards becoming a cult.
@ Sudip Sharma
This is what i understand from your post
1. Dont defend No Smoking
2. Dont judge the reviewers
3. Audience will judge on its own…
If I have missed anything do let me know
About point 1, absolutely true it is not an indie movie, and no one is protecting it, the only thing is many “regulars” maintain a connection with the movie, and the situation is being made worse by the unintelligent reviews by m/s adarsh and the rediff guy
which leads me to your second point, many people here including Oz have said they believe the movie is not brilliant…first try and understand the movie (and I say this after having seen the movie),then try to judge it, and if you cant understand it, then its better not to voice your opinion on the movie…(statements like the ones made by taran adarsh about the non smoking theme of the movie clearly reflects his inability to grasp the concept). i have said this before, i dont quite grasp the entire message of the movie, but if i was to judge purely on the superficial i would treat it as just about ok
and finally i totally agree with you on point 3, let the audience judge the movie, it will go probably crash and burn at the Box office (based on the response during the show i watched) but thats what Anurag Kashyap signed up for when he aspired to make No Smoking (the risk of rejection by the regular movie goers), but dont discourage people from watching the movie, let them try it, who knows maybe the will surprise us all…
Dear mr. oz
Please don
Saurabh on October 26th, 2007 7:59 pm just an observation, rather analogy
Stoddard temple is still a far way off, No Smoking is that house that Roark got to make after Austen Heller’s house. For which he was sarcastically called ‘Superman’.
And yeah, please do Anurag Kashyap a favour and don’t compare him with Roark, atleast not yet… he still has a long way to go(IMHO)
fuck - looks like the dam has burst!! Anurag saheb, looks like you gotta escape to NY for a couple of weeks!!
I can try to understand how you are feeling…just get drunk and piss on the pope! You will feel better!!
You guys are ‘phissed’ about Taran Adarsh’s review …Nikhat Kazmi of Times of India gave the film a 1.5 star and then on the same page she gave Mumbai Salsa a 3.5 star! - Whoo boy!
am a first timer on this site.. quite fascinatin dis site.. a bit sad dat Khalid Mohamed reviewed the director and not the movie.. he’s suppose to write a review and not settle his personal scores i guess!!
khaled’s review:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=2b3fdf86-1d67-4c2a-b205-c286916afcab&ParentID=a63d0ad8-4cf9-4010-8dbb-162828bc9b53&&Headline=Review%3a+EMNo+Smoking%2fEM
The shit has hit the roof. Painful realization of the obvious and the team becomes bad looser. Wrong references, jumbled thought process, incorrect commercial expectation, flattering coterie of courtiers and result is foregone conclusion. The naked shameless faces getting further peeled and blogging is at its worst.
thank u axw11
will check it out !!!
I have been a silent reader of PFC for the past few montha.I felt i should leave a message since this will be last time i will be comign here.I think with this post PFC has stooped down even below the sbstandard sites.
And now i know one thing for cure.Anurag Kashyap is a complete fake.Anyone with little sense can see that reading thru his posts.Two days before he was eagerly waiting for indiafm and rediff reviews.Now when they are out and are against his movie he feels the reviewers are fools.This site owners write such a childish post to substantaite it.
Shame on u guys..grow up!!
No smoking has evolved itself as bizzare fragments of the character ‘k’ through his surreal journey. Anurag Kashyap has made it even more bizzare by his playful yet deliberate structuring of the film, this in way does break the possible cohesiveness that could have been achieved,otherwise.I feel this could be a reason why the film drifted along and ended up in a maze, leaving me in a puzzle of questions. whatever be the kindof film one does..at the end it should lead me to a ‘wholistic response’, a response that makes me feel in relation to the content i have watched. No smoking doesnt convey it successfully creating a space for me to connect those fragments, even at an intellectual level.The ’stylistics’ overtakes the inherent logistics of the film and hence it has become an ‘exercise’ of the director rather than an fully evolved work of cinema. The best of David lynch’s cinema havent lost the aspects i have mentioned above, even in their weirdest best.
Anurag Kashyap as a filmmaker has dared to do what he felt and in Indian standards its a rare one. Though not very successful in his cinematic adventure, its definitely a ‘leap’ for him at the personal level.
i hvnt seen NO SMOKING yet,bt I will be seeing it coz Anurag Kashyap is talented(Black Friday)& an interesting character & fr sure being a ‘rebel’ always has its appeal for underdogs..bt OZ that ws such an immature article by u..n sorry to say very tastelessly condescending…u use words like ‘intellectual’ & ‘genius’ which I think is a very subjective thing..Anurag Kashyap couple of years back in an interview to the magazine FIRST CITY talked abt how it is misleading to find an ‘intellectual’ angle to cinema coz cinema is felt…use the term Common Sense if u want to bt ‘intellectual’ is a very heavy & unnecessary word fr cinema acc to me..if someone doesnt ‘understand’ the movie & writes a review as spontaneously as u hv written this one then that doesnt mean u hv to rebuke him/them like this..I am no fan of Taran Adarsh or the other guy but I am clearly a fan of PFC bt lately PFC is becoming a battleground of ‘US’ vs ‘THEM’ which is such a sick mentality & its better to stay away frm the kinda negativity that promotes the idea of US vs THEM…I endorse lot of points made by Suparn Verma in an article few weeks ago criticising the growing self-indulgent writing on PFC,fr which he received so much flak in comments…u hv to put in a lot of effort to be tolerant n its important to be tolerant…PFC has been indulging in smth which is definitely very negatively aggresive & acc to me against the spirit & purpose of arts..just coz u hv the power n a platform to express urself doesnt mean u express urself mindlessly…movies are made fr the audience,to communicate..this genre has obviously few takers n hence r called cult films..alright no hassles..world cinema has enough space to incorporate every kinda cinema…’knowledge of world cinema’ is nt the most important thing to appreciate cinema…ur attitude is..fine,cinema is a passion bt even if cinema generates this kinda hate & “anger” as seen here then its better nt to be passionate abt it..i hope that A.Kashyap talk with the team of PFC n ask them to mellow n just promote cinema n not hate coz i really admire A.Kashyap after knowing n readin abt him(n nt just on PFC..it ws the articles of FIRST CITY & of BRUNCH that made me started appreciating A.Kashyap as a person first)….tc.God Bless!
I understand you guys are defending Anurag but let’s be frank that this is stupid movie.. it’s arrogant.. I mean too arrogant.. I couldn’t understand either.. It’s ultra-intellectual.. why don’t you guys write a review to explain the story first instead of defending Anurag and criticising critics.. We all know Khalid and Taran are stupid reviewers but why write about what they reviewed..
Nik
@avijit and aastha
i agree that its a mistake to compare a.k. to roark and the movie to the temple without watching it first….bt frankly, i just wrote based on the reactions. i don’t know mr.kashyap apart from the blogs he writes on pfc and his sole work black friday. hence i wrote specifically…’analogy’. it doesn’t mean same…bt similar. its just the situation (reading reviews on and off pfc, and the comments)that provoked the comment.
btw, the reactions are very extreme…some are calling it shit…for the rest, its the work of a genius. also, without blaming pfc (which isn’t a specific group of people) i guess it would be better to voice our opinion about the film giving reasons. if its possible that a someone here is ‘a.k.’s chamcha’ then it must be equally true that some ppl hate the film precisely because a.k. made it.
more after watching the film….btw, can anyone tell me how can I see it in Arizona (without downloading it :-P?????
So what is the debate all about?
To prove that Anurag is the greatest film maker we have, just because he attempts something noir?
To prove that YRF and KJ are dinks who are only concerned how much money their movies make?
To prove that critics like TA, KM, PH, etc, are arm chair varieties who don’t know their asses from their elbows?
To prove that Indian cinegoers don’t understand good cinema, and that they just waste their hard earned money on popcorn flicks?
Guys, get real.
Neither is Anurag some manna from heaven, nor does he truly represent the face of new Indian cinema makers…yes he’s attempted something different, something brave…but that doesn’t necessarily qualify him as India’s answer to Lynch does it?
Neither are YRF and KJ doozies. They do understand the pulse of the market and do dictate to it. So what? People lap it up, don’t they?
Neither are the critics completely wrong either. Yes a few of them have judged Anurag more than NS, but if someone genuinely didn’t get a film, does that make them a lesser critic?
And finally, neither are our cinegoers fools. Films today are competing with a whole lot of distracting elements - TV Serials, Sports, Advertising, The Internet. People will seek self gratification and entertainment first, won’t they?
NS, as Anupama Chopra rightly put it, is an acquired taste. If you have been bought up on a steady diet of avant garde film makers from the West, you’ll like it. If an average Govinda entertainer tickles your senses, you’ll hate it.
What I don’t like is this ‘moral high horse’ everyone is riding upon.
Boss, it’s just a film.
Like it, hate, or ignore it.
Oz, Anurag has made his point. There’s no need of justifying it.
So have Messers KM and Co.
And KJ who suggests Anurag should visit a shrink.
In the final analysis, what really matters is the voice of the average Charlie on the road. Is he getting his Rs 150 worth or no?
If NS did something for him, kudos.
If it didn’t, too bad.
Why sit and intellectualize the film, divide us all into the know-it-alls and the know-it-nots?
Cease and desist guys.
- Shantesh
(Ek baar phir mere Aaaqa - bas ek aakhiri baar! Iske baad nahiN! Iske baad Tauba! Tauba!)
Yeh to ek din hona hi tha!
Cinema ke hawaale se yuuN jaan paRta hai ke jaise experimental space aur intellectual discourse meiN ab scavengers ghuss aaye hain. agar allama-e-awwal janaab-e-ANURAAGIT KASHYUP experimental cinema banate haiN to bhayya experimental cinema waale kya banaate haiN? Is hisaab se bhaai MTV se baRi experimental space kahiN aur hai hi nahiN. Khuda khair kare! Experimental cinema par jis din yahaN koi credible debate shuru hogi to bhayya sab mughaalte duur ho jaayeNge aapke. Vaise jis kism ke nasci-bhagat (narcissism ki intehaa) aap ho gaye ho us se to nahiN lagta ki ab aisa ho paayega.
YahaaN to aapke PFC par har khaas-o-aam ’sirji sirji ka sajda karne waala’ sheeshe ke saamne khaRa apne aap ko ILM DIN or GYAN CHAND karaar de raha hai. Agar yahiN pe bas hoti to ghanimat thi par yahaaN to har ‘yavan’ par, har ‘malechhchh’ par, har ‘kafir’ par, har ‘non-believer’ par, har ‘doosare’ par gaaliyoN ki musalsal bauCHaar ki ja rahi hai. Ye kaisa ‘dharm-yudhdh’ hai bhaai, ye kaisa ‘jihaad’, kaisa ‘crusade’ mere AK (aaqaa)? Baat baat par bidak kar yahaaN ye dhamki di jaati hai: “agar itni takleef hai to yahaaN se dafaa ho jaao”! Blogging ke naam pe yahaaN har kism ki badzauqi aur badtamizi ko jaayaz THehraya jaata hai. Aur saath hi ye bhi bataya jaata hai ke PFC koi ANURAAGIT site nahiN hai. Is statutory statement ko PaRh kar aapki ‘maasoomiyat’ (?) par haNsi aati hai aur apni kismat par rona.
meri naacheez raai meiN Black Friday par debate ek baar phir se khulni chaahiye. PaaNch ka Yotube par Tejasvini wala cabaret dekh kar jis aaqaa ka deedaar hota hai woh darmiyaana filmkaar hi nahiN us se bhi zara neeche ki mediocrity jaan paRta hai. Black Friday ek daring film to hai par yeh cinema kis kism ka hai is par kisi kism ke shaq ki guNjaayish nahiN? Baaqi iski jo insaani-roohaani-siyasati problems haiN aap khud hi apne puraane comradoN se pooCH dekheN pata lag jaayega. Satya aapki Hindustani cinema ki pehli film hai jo kisi kism ke moral vision se mehroom hai. Aapke paas accountability naam ki koi cheez duur duur tak nazar nahiN aati.
Aapne apne ghusse se tamtamaaye rejoinder me Khalid ko ‘c…..a’ karaar diya hai. Khalid ka review is qaabil nahiN ke use review kaha jaaye aur aapne jo uske baare meiN farmaaya hai meiN us se sau feesad sahmat hooN par aapne jo yahaaN ‘c….yoN’ ki jo baaraat ikaTHTHi kar rakhkhi hai us aur aapki nazar kyoN nahiN jaati?
Hi..,
Yesterday i saw a nice Creative work done by Mr. Anurag that is “No Smoking”
Well….Look At That dear.. This is a Turning of New Indian Creative Cinema ……
Mr. Anurag Has done the excellent job…
“Jigar Chahiye Esi Movie Direct karne ke liye”:-?
The best part of the film is The Concept, The Photography and The Flavor.
Even if in future i would become the director then i wish i could make such a wonderful Dark Movie…
As far as the critics comments…..LOL…
As From many years critics have seen so many movies in the same dump styles ( that style is Love Stories and Family Movies), they just lost the level of creativity. So I Think Critics have no guts to welcome such Creative work like “No Smoking”….
But Anurag You just carry on doing the some work…. Because the people like you break the wall of old dump style of Indian cinema one day…
SO you just chill…. You have N number of fans…who like No Smoking… :d/
Oz bhai,
I was looking for show times closer to my home and stumbled across this “wonderful” piece of review by the famous friend of PFC Mr.SKJ. Enjoy for a good laugh - http://nowrunning.com/film/review1.asp?movieNo=3578&r=1383
Thanks for the article Oz. Wished the scope was wider.
Taran Adarsh’s & Hegde’s were the two reviews that came out first coz they were online. But the following day (Sat’day that is) there were the print reviews (Khalid Mohammed in HT, Nikhat Kazmi in ToI & almost all other papers). No Smoking was unequivocally damned. At best some critics tried to propagate their knowledge of world cinema.
I am not saying all of them are ignorant of cinema. I can’t say so coz I am not qualified that much.
But being a student of communication and jornalism, I can say that they were not objective enough. A few admitted they couldn’t understand the movie. Others saif outright that it was a trashcan, maybe a smartlooking trashcan. And they have asked/advised/ordered their readers to stay away from it.
And boy, do they have readers! This is a country where 25,000 farmers marching to the Capital make way to the Delhi half-marathon for the front page splash in the Capital itself.
People don’t want to read about the N-deal but they definitely readthe movie reviews & then decide accordingly as to which flick should accompany their popcorns.
So, those Satday morn reviews harmed the movie more.
Curse me that I don’t have your enthusiasm OzBhai. Else there would have been PasionForJournalism too
Another RGV in the making. Loads of talent getting wasted!!
I did’nt want to clamber onto the comments Bandwagon until unless I got to see NS….but the torrent of Blogs,reviews and comments have left me bewildered !
How can a movie evoke such extreme reactions?
While some media reviews seem to have been preconcieved , some comments here have questioned the limits to which a film maker can push his creative insticts.
Can film makers be left unfettered when a large commercial interest is at stake?
Every filmmaker would strive for both commercial success and critical acclaim,wishing it to happen together.
However,it does’nt happen too often.
Anurag should treat this as an abberation, a turning away point in life.
I’ll proably wait for a week and then go and watch NS, …..with an uncluttered mind.
You missed out Khalid M’s hilariously stupid review of NS in HT. The guy writes like a 6-year old kindergarten backbencher who’s more interested in digging his nose and sticking the naita under the desk than doing his 2+2 sums.
Can’t believe he once wrote so eloquently about Bruce Springsteen and made the excellent Mammo.
Here’s the problem with film critics in India:
they love themselves more than their jobs.
It’s almost exhausting coming to PFC these days and reading all the hatred that spewed daily. IF a reviewer doesn’t like Anurag’s movie then he’s proclaimed an idiot and Anurag’s been proclaimed GOD on here. Karen Johar and KWK is called “mutual masturbation”, the YashRaj company according to most people on here doesn’t know how to make movies. By reading these blogs and comments I’m informed that Indians don’t understand real cinema and Bollywood and the word Bollywood equals shit.
I wish everyone would give it a rest and let people like what they want to like!If Karan Johar wants to have all his friends on his show then it’s his fucking show, so what?! If the Yashraj company makes movies you don’t like than it’s too bad because that’s what they want to make and they will continue to make what they want to make! If Anurag doesn’t like what they do to his scripts after he sells them then it’s too bad, but he got his money anyway and that money helped him make what he wants to make! If the critics don’t like his movies that’s their business and if the Indian population doesn’t understand or want to see them then it’s their business too! If people don’t get it or don’t want to get it than you can’t make them get it!
I don’t see why everyone can’t just discuss the movies without putting others down for what they like or don’t like. Goddammit!!
Whew! Now that I got that out of my system….I just found out that NS was playing in our local Indian cinema in Virginia near Washington DC and tommorrow is the last night , so I’m hoping to go see it….
I think I made some good points in my anger, but since they were just pouring out of me I hope they make sense :-?
NoVaDJ,
agreed people at times are going overboard. But then that’s their reaction.
Coming to the critics, Criticism is an integral part of any form of art. Film reviewing is a serious business. As part of journalism, a necessary precondition is to be objective.
The lack of it has now breached the point of irritation. These bunch of ‘critics’ must first realise that there IS a difference between Films and Cinema, just like there is a difference between Novels and Literature.
You may like to read James Hadley Chase. Does that classify it to be called Literature of the first order?
Similarly, I may not like Mrinal Sen’s work. But won’t it be foolish to say that he doesn’t know anything of Cinema?
As a filmmaker, if Anurag or anyone else errs, he/she will have to face criticism. But it should be constructive.
Else, the critics must be ready to face criticism.
Oz bhai bahut sahi [:D] recent TOI review gave 4 star to “DHOL” he he he he …….. enlighten, educate and entertain
MM
Admin. note : Joe tmp , please dont post same comment again and again on different posts. Once is sufficient.
Thanks
@Joyjeet
One of the best comments that I read. Excellent, crisp and to-the-point
Black Friday, at some points, very clearly loses its moral centre. Despite this, it is a landmark film. Its maker may not be able to tap into that kind of power again, ever. No Smoking has a fantastic credit sequence. The descent into the prayogshala is unforgettable. But the film is bad. Wannabe David Lynch. Wannabe Haruki Murakami. Mr Kashyap has to — and I am sure he will — find something that is his own. His ‘voice’, as the literature people put it. No Smoking is not his voice. It is derivative. It is pretentious.
@Omprakash
Thanks:)
I agree. Very Pretentious. AK made NK for international festivals and miscalculated bigtime. Instead of forgetting about it and moving on, to make a more honest film next time, he keeps beating a dead horse—those ctitics…blah blah. Get on with it man and make sure that Gulel is a good film! And then those Sirjee’s- they remind me of the story about the “Emperor’s New Clothes”…..
“With outright negative reports on hand, NO SMOKING business only went downhill as days progressed. This film is a much bigger disaster than RAMGOPAL VARMA KI AAG, which is considered the baap of all disasters.
Anurag Kashyap’s outburst against me and two more critics amused me no end. I feel sad for Anurag. My only retort would be to advice him to visit the distributors pronto or any cineplex screening his movie for a reality check. Wake up and smell coffee. NO SMOKING is a monumental disaster not just in India, but also in Overseas. Even RAMGOPAL VARMA KI AAG fetched better collections than NO SMOKING. ”
That is the latest from Mr.Taran Adarsh. Hmm so now i guess Taran Adarsh is doing a big favor to Anurag Kashyap by feeling sad for him.
What say guys?
What the hell …
why you guys are blaming critics ….?? even though ..they are wrong…
what do you do then ….why u r defending anurag …when you are making a movie for mass…then be ready for opinions …I wont say its a bad movie ..but there is nothing good about it ….anurag has worked like a painter, he would have made just the way he wanted it …but sorry boss….u cant stop anybody commenting on that….
i respect Anurag’s work …but this is Disappointing …….
ciao
Oz
after reading your review about reviewers i have only one thing to tell you that you are one of those very frustrated lot. I beleive that when you make films meant for common man than it should be understood by all. And if you think that it was not meant for everyone then one should make such films and watch them in their drawing room and feel satisfied. Why you want public to waste their hard earned money to watch such “FALTU” films. When you have a noble cause in hand and a powerfull medium like cinema to tell people then why make such an “absurd” film instead an entertaining and educating film.
Mr. Anurag SMOKING Kashyap you are one lucky person that after making such films still people are putting money in your projects. A Piece of advise make good use of their faith, otherwise your future films will have same fate as Paanch and Gulal.
It disturbs me to think that an actual film critic would call the film a disaster and not even judge the artistic merits just because the theater isn’t full. There have been a lot of award winning films that didn’t do well at the box office. What’s up with the Indian film critics?!
And please dont take the names of Mulholland Dr. and No Smoking in the same breadth! You can’t discredit Lynch’s work more..
That is true, read my article I wanted to post of PFC. Turned out it was too short. It’s already on the comments thread of Anurag’s article.
http://thinkincell.blogspot.com/2007/11/no-smoking-mind-bending-twisted-one.html