Monday, March 8, 2010

Interpretaion of "No Smoking" by Anurag Kashyap

I have read in which circumstances did Anurag Kashyap made this film and what exactly he wanted to convey by this movie. I think its a revolutionary movie and a bold step by Anurag Sir to release it in India. I personally feel that message can be conveyed more effectively and have a long lasting effect if its get conveyed using analogies. Please watch the movie before reading this blog further that will help you to relate things.

He made this movie as a revenge to the censor board. Actually his earlier movies "Paanch" and "Black Friday" was banned by the censor board ("Black Friday" was released later). "No Smoking" is about a character K(played by John Abrahim, but analogically he is K-ashyap himself) who is arrogant. There is a dialogue by John in the movie "No one tells me what to do". He is narcists and a chain smoker who hates, when people tell him to quit smoking or to join any rehab for that.

Now lets have this perspective . Consider K as a 'difference' who wants to live like a free man and do what he wants to. At the same time consider those as a part of 'system' who want him to change, be his wife Anjali(Aesha Takiya), be it Baba Bengali(Paresh Rawal), and be all of his friends who had been victim of the 'system' one time or another and now wants K to be the part of the same 'system' (otherwise they wont get their amputated fingers back).

Its a fact that when person enters into his field of interest, whether its cinema or politics or any other area, he enters as a change and with the ideas of bringing change, because he loves it and wants it to flourish, but system wont let that happen, some stops him because they neither have interest or intellect for the field, and others because they were like K earlier and now the victim of the system.

In his dream he used to see 'cigarette pack' and 'bath tub'. Actually they were analogical to two paths one(cigarette pack) which leads him to his revolutionary path and let him be what he is, but if he follows that he got killed(by some russian soldier). And other(bath tub) leads to the path where his soul separates from his body and get imprisoned and finally burned, which implies now he is also a part of the system(which eventually happens with K).

There is a scene in movie when Baba Bengali(system) dictates K "aatma chanchal hoti hai mann se usse vash mein kiya ja sakta hai" but what actually written in GITA is "mann chanchal hota hai yog aur vairagya se usse vash mein kar sakte hain, aatma toh achal aur nashwar hai"

Movie has a perfect ending with K looking at its amputated fingers, which implies he is a part of system now and have to look for others to have his fingers back.
I accept that change is the law of nature but let only nature bring that change into them, forced inheritance will result into killing of soul as happened with K.

I still don't know what that one rupee signifies.

3 comments:

Renovatio said...

what a brilliant interpretation.

Unknown said...

I have recently finished this movie. didn't know it was a adaptation of stephen king short story adaptation. but I thik anurag kashyap has nailed it. average intellect indian audiences will never understand the inner meaning. they have failed to prove themselves as worthy audiences. ahame to them.

Unknown said...

I still don't understand
1. Why the little girl was in hospital.
2. Why the director make him buy the carpet(u can see it after his car's glass is broken) even though no one notice it much or was not necessary