MOVIE DETAILS

Cast: John Abraham, Ayesha Takia, Paresh Rawal, Ranvir Shorey
Director: Anurag Kashyap
Producer: Kumar Mangat and Vishal Bhardwaj
Music: Vishal Bhardwaj
Lyrics: Gulzar

THE FILM

Before No Smoking came, it was Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag, which was being termed as the worst movie of 2007. And then came No

Smoking, and the focus shifted on Anurag Kashyap for this John Abraham starrer which hardly a soul understood. The film would have probably

worn the crown for being the most severely criticized movie of the year but then Saawariya came a few weeks down the line followed by

Laaga Chunari Mein Daag and No Smoking had a much larger competition to fight for the place up there!

No Smoking is bizarre, no doubt about that, but unlike other films in the 'Hall of fame (shame?)' as mentioned above, this one actually

deserves a second dekko. Reason? While Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag to Saawariya to Laaga Chunari Mein Daag bored, this made

one look at the screen in disbelief and utter astonishment. While it is near to impossible to watch any of them the second time round, No Smoking

actually entices you to give it a try again. That's because it has multiple layers with an abstract narrative, that can be caught only when the film is

given a watch multiple number of points.

In the hindsight, Anurag's intentions were right to begin with. He wanted to make cinema which breaks all norms. Perfectly fine at that. He wanted to

present visuals as never seen before. Correct again. And he very much succeeded too in most part of the film. He wanted to tell a tale which doesn't

quite belong to this world. No problems, as it's good for an attempt. But then the issue was with the narrative which wasn't in sync with the grasping

power of an average audience. It was always 5 steps ahead at every point in the narrative and this is where No Smoking went over the head of the

majority.

PACKAGING

One has to give it to No Smoking for coming out with one of the most stylish cover layout. Striking and intriguing, the picture of John

Abraham smoking with stills from the film around him does catch one's attention. Packaged in a sleek thick paper cum plastic case, the DVD inlay

also has a picture of John baring his body with his signature on it. What also impresses is the text which is revealed once you pick up the DVD. It is

that of a scary agreement which John signed with Paresh Rawal in his endeavor to quit smoking. Those who have watched the film already would be

able to relate to each and every word of the text here!

DURATION

The film comes in a single DVD pack. While the film's duration is 121 minutes, there are also 17 minutes of special features.

SPECIAL FEATURES
To one's disappointment, the only special features along with the DVD are the making of two songs 'Jab Bhi Cigarette Jalti Hai' and 'Phoonk De'.

The 17 minutes which follow are dedicated to the making of songs and feature interviews from Vishal Bhardwaj, Anurag Kashyap, Kumar Mangat,

Rekha Bhardwaj and Ashley Lobo (choreographer). Stories around how Gulzar saab suggested inclusion of 'Jab Bhi Cigarette' in the narrative

and how Ashley Lobo was given a free hand by Anurag to choreograph the song and how 'Phoonk De' was included as a celebration of

success of 'Namak Issak Ka' - Omkara (which featured the team of Vishal, Rekha and choreographer Ganesh Acharya) are told to the audience,

but the question is, is anyone really interested to know all of this?

For a film which was easily the most criticized of the year gone by (mainly negative) at least in Indian media, one expected Anurag Kashyap to grab

the opportunity and talk about this movie in the DVD. After all, majority had concurred that the film didn't work mainly because no one could

understand the thought, the concept, the narrative and scenes of No Smoking. On the other hand, Anurag Kashyap did maintain that he had his

reasons for making this film and even John Abraham had agreed to the fact that, for him, understanding the film in its entirety was never an issue.

This is why, as a viewer, you tend to expect at least one of them to be talking about their film in defense. You never know a simplistic point of view

about the film may have actually managed to make sense with the audience and propelled the sales of the DVD further. Hence, it comes as a rude

shock to see the DVD only being centered on making of the songs - an area which is easily the last thing that would interest a viewer in

understanding about the film.

TECHNICAL DETAILS
- 16:9 Anamorphic Widescreen format
- Subtitles In English
- 5.1 Dolby Digital & Stereo
- Mastered from High Definition (HD)

CONCLUSION
No, I am not claiming that I understood the film in entirety when I saw in the second time on DVD. But there are some elements which does come to

fore. However, yet again, for a viewer to do so it is again at his/her own risk, because it requires a patient (read 'very patient') viewing, to sit through

the film again. Also, one has to be a hardcore movie lover to 'aim' at understanding a particular style of cinema when there are lot many movies

around us which are easy to watch, simple to understand and take us into a far more comfortable hardcore entertainment!

Rating: **