the big bizarre “K” factor !!
(afka + ashyap + jo + yunki + arpet + at’s eye + lockwork orange + nowledge + ryptic + hajur)
kall it kucess, kream, kower, krrogance, kurreal, kizzare, komage, kets see if get me, kan do!!
No, not one more keview of the film, just few kandom khoughts.
In recent times, have never felt so excited about a film’s release. For obvious reasons. Ofcourse, every friday i feel excited. First day first show reports, press screenings reports…die to hear them.
Friday night last show. Me, Vasan and Ashish. As the credits started rolling, a guy sitting next to me asked me kya tha yeh ? His friend sitting next to him….are chal na(lets go). The guy would not get up from his seat and kept on asking few more questions. Why ? Kya bola ? Kyun bola ? Kaise ? I had no answers. I smiled.
During one of the mid-term exams in college, I remember walking out of the examination hall. The questions were very tough. Completely out of syllabus. Out of 10 questions, none of us could figure out more than two. The professor came to the classroom,smiled and asked…any doubts ? something that you guys cant understand ? I raised my hand and told him…yes, cant understand one thing. Why do u want to show of that you are more intelligent than all of us ? we know that!! The terms you have used in the questions, most of us havent heard about it. I walked out. Some others did the same. Later on, it became the subject of discussion many times. My walking out of exam hall became more heroic than those tough quetsions. I had no intention like that. Just felt very angry and spoke out without thinking much. And the professor was quite unpopular anyway because of lot mnay reasons.
I dont know how and why intelligent films are written. I dont know how and why the bizarre films are written. But would like to believe that they are made with honest intention. Intention to tell something where you can engage others. Would also like to believe that the intention is not to tell others that see my limit is this. I can also think like them. What you guys dont and cant understand how much you try, i can do. I can write a puzzle like that. For god’s sake, u dont need to do that when you know you are capabel of that. U need to do that only when you have some other honest intention.
Educated, Enlighten, Entertain….Nah!! I hav only word in my dictionary for films – Engage. Good,bad,ugly,sad……If you engage me in anyway, i love you. No Smoking ? Yes, it engages me. Then ? Then at the end you stare at me ask…kyun phati ? I said haan. Haan. Becuase i could not understand what you said. You engaged me and then i realised i was cheated. May be I failed becuase i could not get it how and why you engaged me or may be you failed because you could not say what you wanted to say. It didnt come across.
I dont have the gyaan of world cinema, i dont have acquired taste. i just watch films. whatever, whicheveer,whenever. So then, do i play the quiz of spotting the million refrences to hundred films and freinds ? Or do i connect the paakhi paakhi song and abbas tyrewala ?
I categorise my films into three genres – poetry, puzzles n prose. But the toughest one is when you put the philoosphy into puzzles. A film like Enternal Sunshine of Spotless Mind is bizzare for sure but its beautiful. The philosophy of love and life is put into science and technology to create a puzzle. But the philosophy comes out so clearly. Similarly, a film like Memento.
I also dont understand why you have to be like those and like them ? why do i have to watch it with a refrence film and a reference director ? why cant i understand you and your cinema!! Or because too many things from too many places dilutes your thoughts.
So, either I failed or you failed! Kyunki konfusion ka khatama kahan ?
( Wish you had instructed the theatre guys to take print out of your post i smoke classic milds and at the exit point hand it over to the people coming out of theatres. Would not have to scratch my bald head so much.
Its great to make films on your terms and conditions. Its great to see that happening. its great to see producers going a step ahead and trusting people with subjects and treatments like this. It can be the most personal one. But then unlike paintings you cant put them in your drawing room. Its for us. Its only for us!! If we dont get it, who ?)
And if i am shot at pfc for this post, would like my blogging epitaph to be….the Khajur who kud not understand K ? neither Karan nor Kyunki!!
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
Memento in the same list :( It is not bizarre as you mention about the other movies while discussing the bizarre K factor. It is more of a carefully/cleverly crafted movie. It only needs repeated viewing to re structure the narrative.
About No Smoking, I dont have a clue (not released here … neither is it going to). Waiting for DVD release as that’s the only alternative. :(
hahahaha PnU… man that was awesome! i am a bit tired to write more but i guess later…
cheers man
Wonderfully put! There is philosophy in your prose! The message comes across and it engages too!
Best post on NS!!
“I dont know how and why intelligent films are written. I dont know how and why the bizarre films are written. But would like to believe that they are made with honest intention. Intention to tell something where you can engage others.”
Quite true. But intelligent films are, quite obviously, for intelligent people. The intention, honest or dishonest, is to appeal to the viewer and make the viewer follow your process of thought. If you are not interested, express your opinion and leave.
“I dont have the gyaan of world cinema, i dont have acquired taste. i just watch films. whatever, whicheveer,whenever.”
But there are people who have. They can relate.And that makes watching film a different experience. You mentioned Memento, didnt you connect it to pulp fiction, Mullholand Drive or 21 grams for there obvious reference to anachronism ? We all do connect that way, but with varying extent.
Its funny that you took the hard work of writing a an essay to deliver a simple thought. Forget about understanding, did you like No Smoking? did you feel that it is even worth to understand it? if not, just move on. You have all the licence in the world to say “this movie sucks”. Your post is almost like defending yourself in court for not liking NS!
Somen dear, like your honesty!!
dude i completely understand wat ure sayin ..!! i came outta d moovie having the same feeling as u !! i mean d moovie was technically brillinat .. but it was waay too bizzare .. frankly sayin i din understand d film!! still dint !!
rudro..this is anurag’s fight club. the other fight club is my religion. but i cud not get into this club. so this confusion. its easy to get the larger philosophy that he is trying to say. but its diffcult to put together all the puzzles in it. n i want to know everything, everything. why this n why that!! i dont understand mindfuck film. and those who said its complete mindfuck film, m sure they didnt get it either. cz its not mindfuck film in anywy. it has all the logic n reasons for it. those who said its just experince, thats just good excuse! its surely going into d history books, it surely going to get the status of cult but may be i need a dummies guidebook to no smoking to get everything from start to finish. c for urself n u will understand what i am saying. but yes, i wud still say that i still smell that atitude..i can, c i can!! n u cant.
@omprakash…memento is not bizarre. but it also confuses. so.
parth,manjeet,dpac,anjali…thnx.
good one.
@Phoenixnu,
i am not saying NS is perfect. Its far from perfect. The interchangability of reality and dream -lucid dream – fantasy – hallucination it wanted to show just isnt impressive enough. the simulated reality part was plain illogic. Reality has to have logic, even it is a fake one. This logic is largely missing from NS. A film can be unreasonable, but it can not be illogic. The screenplay drags most of the time.Compared to other non-Indian films in the samr genre, its pale.
Having said that,the film is successful in keeping some loose, floating, open endings, which has made people to ponder over it. Its up to the viewer to interprete it. Your interpretation and mine will never be the same and each of them can differ from that of the filmmaker.It really doesnt matter. Have you seen Antonioni’s Blowup or Kubrick’s Clockwork Orange?(My favourite films with abstract styles) You will only find extreme reviews for these films. To some people they are among the great masterpieces, to some people greatest trash ever made. Just interpretations. Nothing else.
Its perfectly alright if you dont get a part of the movie and make your own interpretation.That not necessarily make the movie bad.There has been very few film with open, abstract endings in the mainstream bollywood (perhaps none),and NS is one of them.
All I want to say is that Dummie books are for, really, dummies.Its time we getover from the spoon-fed orgasms of YRF and KJO.
To all critics,
i am not understanding what is ur problem with the film.
Somebody saying its worst cinema of the year and some says who are the targeted audience.
As a movie lover i didn’t see this kind of cinema on indian screen.And there r many people who have the same feeling.We r disgusted even to see the posters of indian cinema.We r fed up with Johar’s,yashraj’s and so on bullshit crap.
And many people r talking about the movie.Let them talk and let them think different.Who will change this indian cinema and when will we grown up.
Anurag didn’t go wrong with the concept of the movie like Ramu did with AAG.So what r ur problems guys.
R u bribed off or something else.All u r dumbed by writing reviews on stupid films.So quit this job and find another one. Its better for indian cinema.