no smoking

Director: anurag kashyap

Actor: john abraham,ayesha takia,paresh rawal,ranvir shorey

Data Published: Fri Oct 26 2007

Genres: Drama,Mystery,Thriller

Key Words: neo noir,underwater scene,secretary,absurdism,ambiguity

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0995740/

WIKI: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Smoking_(2007_film)

Description: No Smoking is a movie starring John Abraham, Ayesha Takia, and Paresh Rawal. A surreal story about a man, his addiction of smoking, and a mysterious and powerful organisation, which claims to cure such addictions, though through...

Plot: 'K' (John Abraham) is a wealthy businessman in his 30s, and a heavy chain-smoker. He is confident, narcissistic and very arrogant in nature. After smoking cigarettes spiked with a potent form of marijuana, he ends up in hospital. His family and friends beg him to quit smoking, 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. The first offense is 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. The second offense is losing a finger. The third offense is the death of a loved one. The last offense is 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 resisit 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, 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 a friend 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 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.