No Smoking (2007) - A review

Abstract Art?

Cast- John Abraham, Ayesha Takia, Ranvir Shorey, Paresh Rawal
Director- Anurag Kashyap
Rating-*1/2

Most people would go to see ‘No Smoking’ especially since it’s made by Anurag Kashyap who is known for his intelligent film making . The director might have made the film to make people aware of the dangers of smoking but the problem is the movie is too abstract to get the message across successfully.

K (John Abraham) is a chain smoker and an arrogant man who likes to have his way, come what may. The detoraiting relations with his wife Anjali (Ayesha Takia) is not enough for him to do away with the cancer stick. Enter his weirdo friend, Ranvir Shorey, a big time smoker turned non smoker who recommends a rehabilitation center to get rid of this bad habit. The place where he sends him to, is run by some strange Guruji (Paresh Rawal) with his bevy of followers and appears even queerer. The ride which follows is too vague and it kind of confuses the viewer as to what actually is going on.  Even till the end it is actually difficult to comprehend what the director actually intended to show. John Abraham suits the confused character in the confusing film. The bubbly Ayesha Takia plays a character elder than her age and tries to pull it off. In between, herappearance as John’s secretary was a little strange though (but then most things about this film is quite strange). Ranvir Shorey too suits his weird character and so does Paresh Rawal. The film is full of other strange characters (which includes John's brother who is named J!) as well which only adds up to the confusion.

Cinematography by Rajeev Ravi is good and some shots are as good as any European movie. Model Jesse Randhawa does an unique act with “Jab bhi cigarette peeta hoon”, but Bipasha’s item number ‘Phook De’ is a dampener , leave alone reports of it being equated or bettering ‘Beedi Jalaile.’

The biggest problem with ‘No Smoking’ is the absence of a concrete story line and its failure to get its message across clearly. For this very reason, it’s likely that the film will not appeal to majority viewers.