The very reason(apart from my laziness) that I have picked up my pen(read logged into my blog page) after 5 long years since the last post is simply because of the strong urge I felt about expressing my views on this particular topic (Please do not take the title with its literal meaning).
What is "Cinema" all about? In a particular youtube video I hit upon(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjJAL5emp74), Anurag Kashyap mentions about his experience when his so-far unreleased debut directorial was screened for the Censor Board. One of the members of the board who watched the movie defined "Cinema" to be "Healthy Entertainment" and since "Paanch" (the so-far unreleased Anurag Kashyap debut directorial) was neither healthy nor entertaining (as per the gentleman from Censor Board), the movie was deemed unfit for screening. Whatever the issue with the gentleman and Anurag Kashyap, can we just hold back for a second and define what does "Cinema" mean to us? When I posed this question to myself, I found that for me Cinema is something that should leave me mesmerized, so deeply involved in the plot that I should forget all else for as long as the closing credits dont start rolling.
One such movie I hit upon only recently was "No Smoking", one of the biggest disasters(or perhaps The Biggest Disaster) of 2007. Perhaps it belonged to a genre whose time had not yet arrived (at least not in Bollywood). The story revolves around K (played by John Abraham) who happens to be a chain smoker. When his wife leaves him as she cannot put up with his smoking habits, K decides to visit a certain "Prayogshala" (laboratory), recommended by his chain-smoker turned non-smoker childhood friend Abbas (Ranvir Shorey), who himself got his addiction cured at the same place. What follows next is a bizzare and labyrinth-esque experience for K and the viewers. And that is exactly what makes this film stand apart from its peers. Needless to say, I could not fully and clearly understand the story after a certain point, but more importantly I was left spellbound by the viewing experience. That also made me curious to find out what did one of the critics I follow often had to say about the movie. He dismissed it with a 1/5 stars citing the "reeking of arrogance from a promising filmaker" and "incohesive screenplay" as some of the reasons. However, I, as a viewer will never judge a movie by textbook parameters taught in a filmmaking school. What I will look for is mentioned in my definition of Cinema quoted in the previous paragraph. It is absolutely alright for me if the movie is not "realistic", or even if I am unable to fully grasp the story.
I wonder if such a movie had been made by Martin Scorcese or Quentin Tarantino, we would have praised them no end and considered ourselves idiots as we could not fully fathom the movie. But since this one was made by our local boy Anurag, we would instead label him an idiot because he made a movie we could not fully understand. Trust me guys, its an altogether different cinematic experience. Any attempt to describe the plot or the theme would not be able to capture the essence of the movie. Go indulge yourself in No Smoking. But be warned, if you do not have a taste for the unconventional or if you wish to seek common sense and logic (though you might happily waive them off for a David Dhawan movie), stay away from it. Its dark, its chilling at times and its surreal! Bollywood came of age in 2007, but we missed it :( . Anyways, 5 years is not too late to make amends, is it? Last but not the least, Dear Anurag Kashyap, Thank You for "No Smoking".
What is "Cinema" all about? In a particular youtube video I hit upon(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjJAL5emp74), Anurag Kashyap mentions about his experience when his so-far unreleased debut directorial was screened for the Censor Board. One of the members of the board who watched the movie defined "Cinema" to be "Healthy Entertainment" and since "Paanch" (the so-far unreleased Anurag Kashyap debut directorial) was neither healthy nor entertaining (as per the gentleman from Censor Board), the movie was deemed unfit for screening. Whatever the issue with the gentleman and Anurag Kashyap, can we just hold back for a second and define what does "Cinema" mean to us? When I posed this question to myself, I found that for me Cinema is something that should leave me mesmerized, so deeply involved in the plot that I should forget all else for as long as the closing credits dont start rolling.
One such movie I hit upon only recently was "No Smoking", one of the biggest disasters(or perhaps The Biggest Disaster) of 2007. Perhaps it belonged to a genre whose time had not yet arrived (at least not in Bollywood). The story revolves around K (played by John Abraham) who happens to be a chain smoker. When his wife leaves him as she cannot put up with his smoking habits, K decides to visit a certain "Prayogshala" (laboratory), recommended by his chain-smoker turned non-smoker childhood friend Abbas (Ranvir Shorey), who himself got his addiction cured at the same place. What follows next is a bizzare and labyrinth-esque experience for K and the viewers. And that is exactly what makes this film stand apart from its peers. Needless to say, I could not fully and clearly understand the story after a certain point, but more importantly I was left spellbound by the viewing experience. That also made me curious to find out what did one of the critics I follow often had to say about the movie. He dismissed it with a 1/5 stars citing the "reeking of arrogance from a promising filmaker" and "incohesive screenplay" as some of the reasons. However, I, as a viewer will never judge a movie by textbook parameters taught in a filmmaking school. What I will look for is mentioned in my definition of Cinema quoted in the previous paragraph. It is absolutely alright for me if the movie is not "realistic", or even if I am unable to fully grasp the story.
I wonder if such a movie had been made by Martin Scorcese or Quentin Tarantino, we would have praised them no end and considered ourselves idiots as we could not fully fathom the movie. But since this one was made by our local boy Anurag, we would instead label him an idiot because he made a movie we could not fully understand. Trust me guys, its an altogether different cinematic experience. Any attempt to describe the plot or the theme would not be able to capture the essence of the movie. Go indulge yourself in No Smoking. But be warned, if you do not have a taste for the unconventional or if you wish to seek common sense and logic (though you might happily waive them off for a David Dhawan movie), stay away from it. Its dark, its chilling at times and its surreal! Bollywood came of age in 2007, but we missed it :( . Anyways, 5 years is not too late to make amends, is it? Last but not the least, Dear Anurag Kashyap, Thank You for "No Smoking".
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