tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post7609862238716305267..comments2024-03-29T15:45:04.867+05:30Comments on Jabberwock: Anurag Kashyap's No Smoking and Tarsem Singh's The Cell: some notesJabberwockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-62888584899742048062013-11-06T14:32:46.406+05:302013-11-06T14:32:46.406+05:30Great review. No Smoking was awesome movie to watc...Great review. No Smoking was awesome movie to watch if only to see the treatment of the Stephen King story (starts off in a similar vein but man does it take a big big detour) and the atmosphere that Kashyap manages to create. I love the decision of casting John Abraham. Similar to the casting of Brad Pitt in Fight club; to keep the viewer distracted from what is about to come.<br /><br />The movie "cell" is of course a visual tour de force. Its one of the rare modern movies which is able to take us into the nightmare world so convincingly. This used to be much more common in some of the earlier films like those of Resnais, Bunuel, Angelopoulous etc. The only gripe I had with the film was the unimaginative plot, which exists only to act a s a platform for Tarsem to show off his visual skills. Heck, even the plot of Nightmare on elm street would fit perfectly for the filmSidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-5721256668393944452008-12-09T17:09:00.000+05:302008-12-09T17:09:00.000+05:30Dev D is a modern-day love story. Dev, Paro and Ch...Dev D is a modern-day love story. Dev, Paro and Chanda of Dev D reflect the sensibilities, conflicts, aggression, independence, free thought, exuberance and recklessness of the youth of today. A generation that is jammed between eastern roots and western sensibilities.<BR/>Dev D is set in the rustic and colourful Punjab and also explores the dingy, morbid, dark underbelly of Delhi. It takes us from sprawling mustard fields to a riot of neon; from Punjabi ballads to mayhem in rock.<BR/>The film stars Abhay Deol as Dev, Mahi Gill as Paro & Kalki as Chanda.<BR/>It's been written and directed by Anurag Kashyap and produced by UTV Spotboy.<BR/>To know more log onto www.devdthefilm.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-48871676963866795682008-05-28T14:30:00.000+05:302008-05-28T14:30:00.000+05:30Hey , why no mention about the music of No Smoking...Hey , why no mention about the music of No Smoking? i believe this was easily one of the best works by Vishal bharadwaj. Loved it both for its orchestration and Gulzar's poetry.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-34873870870780263172008-02-21T00:51:00.000+05:302008-02-21T00:51:00.000+05:30i have no idea what went worng... but though i lik...i have no idea what went worng... but though i liked the director's approach to the idea of smoking....<BR/>"I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND THE MOVIE"....i liked the beginning and was curious to know what would happen... but swear.. didn't understand what it was.May be had to be moer intellectual in my views...i would highly appreciate it if anyone could explain to me what it was all about...<BR/><BR/>Chikku :)non compos mentishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15544822822131622528noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-87178801137032048202008-02-19T10:36:00.000+05:302008-02-19T10:36:00.000+05:30And absolutely agree with your comment to Raj. No ...And absolutely agree with your comment to Raj. No liking No Smoking as a serious film watcher is no crime. It's just that the reviews should have been more intelligent that they have been (mainstream).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-88856066472413703572008-02-19T10:30:00.000+05:302008-02-19T10:30:00.000+05:30Hey Jai,This is a very nice review of No Smoking. ...Hey Jai,<BR/><BR/>This is a very nice review of No Smoking. I stumbled on your blog thanks to DP's link of your Jodha Akbar review. But the more I'm exploring, the more glad I am that I found this blog. <BR/><BR/>No Smoking has been so thoroughly thrashed by people whose business it is to understand movies, that such reviews really become important. I'll put a link on this on my own blog.<BR/><BR/>regards,<BR/>asuphAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-21298464001612169802007-12-30T03:42:00.000+05:302007-12-30T03:42:00.000+05:30Have you seen this movie called the Cube? You migh...Have you seen this movie called the Cube? You might find it interesting.Hanedinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14479806778085435306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-53798508025068378852007-11-26T15:35:00.000+05:302007-11-26T15:35:00.000+05:30Very happy to know that you have liked the movie.I...Very happy to know that you have liked the movie.<BR/><BR/>I do not understand this general feeling of people: If you like No Smoking and hate Om Shanti Om(which is just an extended collection of gags and references) you are a pseudo-intellectual being.<BR/><BR/>I totally agreed with you when you said any good film is a “fun” film, whether it’s made by Manmohan Desai or Ingmar Bergman.<BR/><BR/>Moreover cinema is personal experience and shouldn't be swayed by general opinion.<BR/><BR/>Cheers...<BR/>Priyambad<BR/>http://24fpsec.blogspot.com/Priyambadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16977176513322455851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-17845621126451352762007-11-06T21:44:00.000+05:302007-11-06T21:44:00.000+05:30I am glad you wrote this way about The Cell. I thi...I am glad you wrote this way about The Cell. I think it is one of those films I would always be highly defensive about. Or so I wish. It uses the hyponotic jaggery of visuals that takes the viewer in. Good post!moonstruck maniachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16566306531425060349noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-75730150388514180862007-11-02T15:33:00.000+05:302007-11-02T15:33:00.000+05:30sort of a non-sequitur, this. I pasted the wiki bi...sort of a non-sequitur, this. I pasted the wiki bit and then scrolled to the bottom and saw the snippet about the link between the story and the film plot. When I read the plot synopsis, I felt (again) about Stephen K the way you feel about de Palma - proud and defensive. How many plots derive directly from or at least reference King. And yet the man, one of the finest observers of human nature around is labelled a schlock-n-splat penny-dreadful hack. Trigger finger on ctrl+v - sorry amigo!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-11427148579556063972007-11-02T11:29:00.000+05:302007-11-02T11:29:00.000+05:30A person who can't even use his name while comment...A person who can't even use his name while commenting must be having tons of fortitude.<BR/><BR/>Anon: 'Tum Jaise ho waise hi Raho' Tum Badal gaye to duniya ka kya hoga.Shwet Awasthihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04707072898697709519noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-40369623907119517332007-11-02T10:58:00.000+05:302007-11-02T10:58:00.000+05:30u mean profligates :)what to do hum to aise he hai...u mean profligates :)<BR/>what to do hum to aise he hainAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-43285904526984648952007-11-02T08:53:00.000+05:302007-11-02T08:53:00.000+05:30Anon: yes yes, of course. What terrible people we ...Anon: yes yes, of course. What terrible people we pseudo-intellectuals are. We put ourselves through endless hours of torture watching these rubbish films just so we can tell people we liked them. Immense self-loathing proliferates.Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-73031234217389949662007-11-02T02:35:00.000+05:302007-11-02T02:35:00.000+05:30NO SMOKING what a rubbish film ..waste of dollars ...NO SMOKING what a rubbish film ..waste of dollars $$$... jab we met is better anurag kashyap is going the RGV way totally irrelevant with the film audiences <BR/>only pseudo intellectuals will like his moviesAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-67221369586252765442007-11-01T23:59:00.000+05:302007-11-01T23:59:00.000+05:30I have a burning question about this film. But ask...I have a burning question about this film. But asking it here would involve posting spoilers. Help?<BR/><BR/>And the curtain came down before the item number. :(Teleutehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00583628336404295422noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-29821570975056029582007-11-01T22:00:00.000+05:302007-11-01T22:00:00.000+05:30>> I'm a bit disturbed by some of the smug counter...>> I'm a bit disturbed by some of the smug counter-criticism that runs along the lines "if you didn't like No Smoking, that means you don't know about cinema".<BR/><BR/>*nods aggressively* I concur with that Jabberwock, and I'm glad someone said that. Also, the notion that appreciation of a film like <I>No Smoking</I> (or any kind of film for that matter) has to be preceded by a "history" simply beats me. (Of course, I don't mean to suggest that any sort of "history" doesn’t add much to one's appreciation of arts in general.)<BR/><BR/>I loved the film myself, a brilliantly filmed dreamy meditation about the "tussle" between individual freedom and collective consciousness among other things.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-8688618375797942352007-11-01T20:11:00.000+05:302007-11-01T20:11:00.000+05:30Chaila- Bihari: *giggle* thanks.Raj: I know, that'...Chaila- Bihari: *giggle* thanks.<BR/><BR/>Raj: I know, that's something I should have mentioned in the previous comment. The problem with all the negative reviews I've seen so far isn't that they are negative but that you don't get the impression that the reviewer has tried to engage with the film. It's more like kneejerk anti-intellectualism. If, say, Baradwaj had disliked the film and then written a negative review matching his usual standards, I would have appreciated that every bit as I do the review he actually wrote.<BR/><BR/>Btw, there <I>are</I> a few other positive reviews out there - Nandini Ramnath's in <I>Time Out</I> for instance, and Manju Sara Rajan's in <I>Mint</I>.Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-33115823730111645732007-11-01T19:22:00.000+05:302007-11-01T19:22:00.000+05:30Oh yes I agree, and that too is happening courtesy...Oh yes I agree, and that too is happening courtesy this whole clique-ism that seems to form in Bollywood.<BR/><BR/>Eventually, a review has to be an individual opinion, I myself have not been able to like a number of films that have been universally heralded as classics ...<BR/><BR/>Yet, all NS reviews I have read, two exceptions being Baradwaj Rangan and Sarita Tanwar (MiD-Day) have either been lazy reviews that say the movie could have given its noble message in a more simplistic form or are personal agendas (Khalid Mohammed launching a vitriolic attack on Kashyap and so on).Raj Lalwanihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09018197330052377676noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-75549049179926883002007-11-01T18:08:00.000+05:302007-11-01T18:08:00.000+05:30Intelligent words about intelligent cinema. Shows ...Intelligent words about intelligent cinema. Shows why I keep coming back to JabberwockChaila Biharihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18232955227547357685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-51018405752648007002007-11-01T17:15:00.000+05:302007-11-01T17:15:00.000+05:30Sangeetha: I also thought the last 20 minutes stre...Sangeetha: I also thought the last 20 minutes stretched on for too long. And frankly, I'm still not sure that it wasn't all a dream!Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-65049062843342424752007-11-01T17:13:00.000+05:302007-11-01T17:13:00.000+05:30...could not he justify life a little more? Or doe...<I>...could not he justify life a little more? Or does he seriously think one has to either die fighting the "system" or live a soul-less life succumbing to it?</I><BR/><BR/>Sayantan: maybe he has a worldview that doesn't involve justifying life or trying for a brighter perspective on things. We need to respect that (or at least accept it) and then go on to judge the film on its own terms. Also, I think your "acute sense of unease and discomfort" (something which many viewers would have felt, including those who savaged the film afterwards) says a lot about the film's success in doing what it was trying to do.<BR/><BR/>Btw, liked your post a lot.Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-16038666757716099612007-11-01T17:07:00.000+05:302007-11-01T17:07:00.000+05:30...film reviewers in newspapers ought to visit a p...<I>...film reviewers in newspapers ought to visit a prayogshala and be forced to read a lot more and see more works of cinema before they are allowed to review movies again</I><BR/><BR/>Raj: in general, I'd agree that many newspaper reviewers out here haven't seen enough good films (from different branches of filmmaking). But I also have to say that it's equally valid for an informed movie-watcher to think <I>No Smoking</I> is a mediocre film and to express this in a well-argued review. While I'm happy that people are standing up for this film, I'm a bit disturbed by some of the smug counter-criticism that runs along the lines "if you didn't like <I>No Smoking</I>, that means you don't know about cinema". <BR/><BR/>But yes, reducing the film to an "anti-smoking" message movie is laughable, and plain lazy.Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-68080469826249495552007-11-01T14:57:00.000+05:302007-11-01T14:57:00.000+05:30"No Smoking" is one of the most disturbing, haunti..."No Smoking" is one of the most disturbing, haunting films I have ever seen. Unforgettable. Hats off to Anurag Kashyap. And congratulations to John on his sensitive performance - there are so many scenes where the confusion, pain, bewilderment of K's character are conveyed not through dialogues but through John's body language and expressions. I can't wait for the DVD to come out.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-39448584580768421562007-11-01T14:51:00.000+05:302007-11-01T14:51:00.000+05:30Thank you for this review, Jai. This movie needs r...Thank you for this review, Jai. This movie needs reviews like these ... film reviewers in newspapers ought to visit a prayogshala and be forced to read a lot more and see more works of cinema before they are allowed to review movies again.<BR/><BR/>I probably never would be an Abraham fan too, but he simply rocks in this one. And more than that, I appreciate the fact that he signed a film like this in spite of his hardcore commercial background.<BR/><BR/>What's most hilarious is about how reviewers have gone on to write about how the film is on the perils of smoking ... the actual film is about an absurd world in the Kafkaesque sense, extreme fundamentalism with a nod towards Big Brother and 1984 and about an individual who wishes to go against the norm with 'nobody telling him what to do', but then it's the norm that takes him under its hold and tries to show him his place.Raj Lalwanihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09018197330052377676noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-24093857957255401252007-11-01T13:36:00.000+05:302007-11-01T13:36:00.000+05:30yeah hav seen the promos of the film and now your ...yeah hav seen the promos of the film and now your review. having liked them both makes a strong case for watching the film that i will sure do.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com