What do you get when you mix a Stephen King story, a glossy
Bollywood thriller, a generous helping of Kafka, and perhaps a dash of
Bugs Bunny? Even after seeing No Smoking (2007), I’m still not quite sure. It’s certainly interesting.
Because this is, in large part, a Kafka homage, our protagonist is named K (John Abraham). K is a wealthy, self-centered and arrogant businessman who loves smoking, much to the distress of his long-suffering wife Anjali (Ayesha Takia). (K is also conducting a half-hearted affair with his busty secretary Annie (also Ayesha Takia), but she and Anjali may or may not be the same person.)
Anjali is so tired of K’s constant smoking that she leaves him. K decides that he’d rather be married than a smoker, so he visits “The Laboratory,” a recovery facility enthusiastically recommended by his old smoking buddy Abbas (Ranvir Shorey).
The Laboratory turns out to be a maze of stone rooms staffed by wrestlers and women in burqas, in the corner of a forgotten slum which is hidden underneath a dingy carpet shop. The man in charge, Baba Bangali (Paresh Rawal), forces K to sign a contract, then explains the terms. The first time K smokes, his asthmatic brother J (Sanjay M. Singh) will be placed in a room with all the cigarette smoke K has ever exhaled. After the second cigarette, K loses two fingers. After the third, Anjali will be killed. Smoke the fourth cigarette, and J goes back into the room with all the smoke. And if K smokes five times, Baba will have to take extreme measures.
K is, naturally, incredulous, but he quickly discovers that no matter where he goes, the Laboratory are watching him.
K decides to follow the rules, until old friend and cigar entrepreneur Alex (Joy Fernandas) stuffs a cigar in his mouth. And then things get weird.
No Smoking is a very dense film; I’m not sure I’ve figured out exactly what happened, let alone what the deeper meaning might be. On the other hand, I don’t think this is a movie you need to “get” in order to enjoy. It’s a slick, stylish, dark, and visually interesting thriller, worth a watch even if it doesn’t have an easily grasped meaning.
Because this is, in large part, a Kafka homage, our protagonist is named K (John Abraham). K is a wealthy, self-centered and arrogant businessman who loves smoking, much to the distress of his long-suffering wife Anjali (Ayesha Takia). (K is also conducting a half-hearted affair with his busty secretary Annie (also Ayesha Takia), but she and Anjali may or may not be the same person.)
Anjali is so tired of K’s constant smoking that she leaves him. K decides that he’d rather be married than a smoker, so he visits “The Laboratory,” a recovery facility enthusiastically recommended by his old smoking buddy Abbas (Ranvir Shorey).
The Laboratory turns out to be a maze of stone rooms staffed by wrestlers and women in burqas, in the corner of a forgotten slum which is hidden underneath a dingy carpet shop. The man in charge, Baba Bangali (Paresh Rawal), forces K to sign a contract, then explains the terms. The first time K smokes, his asthmatic brother J (Sanjay M. Singh) will be placed in a room with all the cigarette smoke K has ever exhaled. After the second cigarette, K loses two fingers. After the third, Anjali will be killed. Smoke the fourth cigarette, and J goes back into the room with all the smoke. And if K smokes five times, Baba will have to take extreme measures.
K is, naturally, incredulous, but he quickly discovers that no matter where he goes, the Laboratory are watching him.
K decides to follow the rules, until old friend and cigar entrepreneur Alex (Joy Fernandas) stuffs a cigar in his mouth. And then things get weird.
No Smoking is a very dense film; I’m not sure I’ve figured out exactly what happened, let alone what the deeper meaning might be. On the other hand, I don’t think this is a movie you need to “get” in order to enjoy. It’s a slick, stylish, dark, and visually interesting thriller, worth a watch even if it doesn’t have an easily grasped meaning.
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