No Smoking Dvd

No Smoking is a 2007 Indian neo-noir surreal psychological thriller film written and directed by Anurag Kashyap and co-produced by Vishal Bhardwaj and Kumar Mangat. The film stars John Abraham, Ayesha Takia, Ranvir Shorey and Paresh Rawal in the lead roles, while Bipasha Basu appears in an Item number. The film is loosely based upon the 1978 short story “Quitters, Inc.” by Stephen King, which was previously adapted as one of three segments featured in Hollywood anthology film, Cat’s Eye (1985). It became the second Indian film after Julie Ganapathi and first Hindi-language film to be adapted from a Stephen King work. The story follows K (Abraham) a self-obsessed, narcissist chain smoker who agrees to kick his habit to save his marriage and visits a rehabilitation centre, but is caught in a labyrinth game by Baba Bengali (Rawal), the man who guarantees he will make him quit.

The film released worldwide on 26 October 2007, but was met with a lukewarm response from Indian critics and mixed response from overseas critics. The film did not perform well at the box office either, becoming one of the major disasters of the year. According to Kashyap, the film failed because, it was considered much ahead of its time, courtesy of its dark and unusual storyline comprising with elements of surrealism, fantasy, dream, reality, horror and dark humour which left critics and the cinema-goers baffled, this was frowned upon by Indian audiences, as it was unconventional, pretentious and they had never seen anything like it. But in later years the film received positive reviews and has become a cult film.

No Smoking was nominated at several award ceremonies in 2008, primarily for the technical aspects of the film, including 3 Filmfare award nominations. Before a full cinematic release in India, the film was invited to be screened at the Rome Film Festival where it won huge appreciation from the audience and critics alike. In 2011, the film was played at several film festivals in India and China, receiving unanimous applause and praise, as well as winning a number of awards.

Plot

The film begins with Karan Anand, a man waking up in decrepit old house in an unknown area. He gets a call from his wife inquiring where he is. Unaware of his location, he searches the house for a cigarette. He accidentally opens a room and finds it filled with Russian soldiers. One of the them starts chasing him and opens fire at him. He gets shot in the leg and jumps into a bathtub he finds in the snow. The man wakes up in a bathtub. He is revealed to be K (John Abraham), a wealthy businessman in his 30s. He is confident, narcissistic and very arrogant, and also completely addicted to smoking. He smokes almost constantly – at work, at home, even in the bath and while having sex. His friends and family beg him to quit, but to no avail. K’s friend Abbas (Ranvir Shorey) and his doctor (Kiku Sharda), offer to set up an appointment at a rehabilitation centre called ‘Prayogshaala’ (‘The Laboratory’), which they claim will surely rid K of his habit. K finally relents after his wife Anjali (Ayesha Takia) leaves him, unable to take the strain K’s smoking addiction places on their relationship.

K decides to check out Prayogshaala, and meets Shri Shri Prakash Guru Ghantal Baba Bengali Sealdahwale (Paresh Rawal). The centre operates behind the front of another business, ‘Kalkatta Karpets’. K finds the building to be unconventional and confusing, similar to a Labyrinth. The method Prayogshaala uses to cure their patients of their addiction is based on fear and psychological manipulation. Each time a patient gives in to their vice, Baba makes sure that something shocking happens to them.

Offense #1 : Almost killing a loved one, by keeping him/her in a chamber full of cigarette smoke the person has smoked in his entire life, for a duration of 5 minutes.

Offense #2 : Losing a finger.

Offense #3 : Death of a loved one.

Offense #4 : Taking the soul of the person from his body, although this offense is described very loosely.

K initially refuses to sign the contract and pay the fee of ₹ 21,11,111 for his treatment but is forced to do so by Baba and his disciples. Baba then tells K that he is free to leave, but he must abide by the rules or he will suffer the consequences. K witnesses other members of the group as they try to quit smoking. Many end up losing fingers as they cannot resist the urge to smoke. K tries to keep to the terms but fails twice and is punished. He is now very conscious about the third time.

After some time, K meets an old friend, Alex, who is now a Cuban cigar seller. At an event, K is forced to place a cigar in his mouth, in order to appease his friend. Seconds later, he receives a phone call from the police, who inform him that his wife is missing and possibly dead. He calls Baba and is told that for smoking, his wife will be killed, as per the rules. He protests that he did not actually smoke and Baba apologizes for the mistake, but says it is too late. K asks Baba to tell the police about this, but the line goes dead and the phone number is non-existent on dialling. K’s protests are ignored and the police believe that he is delusional. Trying to prove his story, he seeks out Abbas, who had lost a finger at the rehabilitation centre, only to find that the man has all fingers intact. Mocking him, the police force K to smoke. Shortly afterwards, K gets a phone call that his brother committed suicide due to his smoking habit. K raves angrily at the police and is thrown in the jail.

K is eventually bailed out. Soon, he learns that Baba permits sins and vices to be done during a period known as ‘Zero Minute’. He attends an event, where he sees Baba, but is unable to reach him. K decides to light a cigarette. Suddenly, K wakes up in a Russian army base, with a call from his wife. She asks him why he believes she is dead. K is confused, but escapes from the base by jumping into water and ends up in a ragged room, from which he sees himself staring out from a hospital room. He also sees his wife and Baba. He calls out but no one can hear him, and he is told that it is because his body no longer hears his inner soul. The final punishment is complete.

In a series of haphazard events, the twisted path of K’s soul is shown, until it finally reaches his body once again. K wakes up in his home to find his wife sleeping near him. He also discovers that he is missing two fingers. Later, K is seen recommending the “Prayogshala” centre to a friend.

Cast

John Abraham as Karan Anand a.k.a. K, a self obsessed, smart aleck, narcissist, chain smoker who agrees to quit smoking for his wife, but is caught up in the game of Baba Bengali in the process, after he refuses to co-operate.
Ayesha Takia as Anjali Karan Anand / Annie, the wife of K, who is fed up of his habit and forcefully tries to make him quit by threatening to leave him. Annie is the secretary of K, who seems to have a crush on him and looks exactly the same as Anjali. Throughout the movie, it is implied she happens to be both Annie and Anjali as K liked spreading rumors in office about their affairs.
Paresh Rawal as Shri Shri Prakash Guru Ghantal Baba Bengali Sealdahwale, the film’s main antagonist, who is extremely mysterious, yet very clever and powerful. He forcefully makes people quit smoking, otherwise bad things keep on happening in their lives. He knows at all times if someone is breaking his agreement, even if they are in another country, or no man’s land.
Ranvir Shorey as Abbas Tyerwalla, the friend of K, who was also the one to introduce him to smoking. He recommends the prayogshala (Laboratory) to K, as he himself had to learn to quit smoking from Baba Bengali.
Kiku Sharda as the doctor and another friend of K, who learnt to quit smoking from Baba Bengali.
Joy Fernandes as Alex
Rasika Dugal in character role
Anurag Kashyap as man in the elevator (uncredited)
Vikramaditya Motwane as an employee in K’s office
Gajraj Rao as Drunk Man outside restaurant.
Jesse Randhawa in a special appearance as a dancer in the song “Jab Bhi Cigarette”
Bipasha Basu in an Item number “Phook De” (during the closing credi