No Smoking – In defence of Anurag Kashyap

I always feel guilty that my Accessability blog is lying waste after the three posts and this blog reduced to post whatever I write for Success & Ability. It is not that I don’t see films other than I have committed write about. It is just that lot of water may have flowed below the bridge, so to say, before I see those films so I feel I may not have anything new to write about them.

Now, I feel I have got an appropriate film in No Smoking to write about. My only interest in this film until a few weeks ago was that couple of my Net friends from this Community blog were partly involved with this film. But, when I started hearing the songs a few weeks ago I virtually started feeling aroused (ha ha ha) to see it.

The film released last Friday (just two shows here), I’d made plans to see it on Monday due to circumstances (but a friend cursed me that I’ll not see the film without her and it rained; on Tuesday I cursed her back and made it without her).

By Saturday evening the film had received royal drubbing from all and sundry, main stream media as well as blogs, even the Community blog where Anurag Kashyap himself writes has not spared him, which created doubts in me whether to take the effort to watch it in the theatre or wait for the DVD release. My Net friend didn’t help things as his reply to my sms was something like: See it in the theatre itself. I personally found it long, boring & was lost by the end.

I loved this film is to put it mildly. I found the film had lot of parallels with my life though I’m a non-smoker by limitations and not by choice (wish I could bring up a few examples while writing this).

I have no idea about homage being paid to Kafka or who Bob Fosse is as is repeatedly mentioned in the reviews or that it is inspired by a Stephen King short story.

For me the film was how a community is ostracised by the so-called politically correct society. They should be reprimanded. They should be stopped. They should be rehabilitated. It somehow succeeds in doing that by the end.

I am always being advised to sit straight, not to keep my head tilted: It makes you look retarded or you should talk properly to prove that you are intelligent. Recently only I have found the courage (at least with some people) to say that the way I do things because I find it easier do them and if the salesman at the music shop thinks that I’m a dumbo and doesn’t treat me well because I take your help to communicate with him, it is his loss not mine; somewhat like John Abraham rudely tells the old lady to take the stairs when she is irritated by his smoking in the elevator.

We all know cigarettes kill. Nicotine is addictive. Then why not bring in stringent laws so that people who have grievance and those who are feeling cheated can milk the conglomerates that make these Cancer Sticks dry by the rule of Law.

Here is an intelligent review of Baradwaj Rangan and here is why I’ve started losing respect for initial Guru in film appreciation.

And a pro-smoking post by BG.

PS. A warning to people who get dosage of advice from me to reduce the intake of nicotine: if you ever use this post as an argument against me, I’ll kick your b….s. Smoking leads to impotence. Understand Yaar!