If you thought SRK was the most arrogant person in Bollywood, think again. Anurag Kashyap (AK) is in town. And he is there big time.
I watched No Smoking last night and have no qualm whatsoever admitting that I did not understand the movie. But then it didn't disappoint me either.
It was something altogether new for me [actually most of us] and that's what gives it its charm. From the very moment the movie was showcased on big screen, volumes have been written in support of and against the movie. While critics on all popular websites and newspapers have gone to extent of tag it "avoidable at any cost", some [specially at PFC] have come strongly in its support.
You like it or you don't like it - all up to you.
But it gave me an opportunity to try something new. punjabi kha kha kar bore ho gaye hain, kabhi to Chinese bhi try karna chahiye; nahi to kabhi pata nahi chalega ki there is life beyond chole bhature. One blog on PFC nicely compares this movie to cheese. Loving cheese is an acquired taste. One who has never tasted cheese is bound to reject it at the first try. But then it does not mean that cheese is not good or that people can not like cheese. Wine however bitter has its fan-following. And it does give an choice when you think beyong vodka.
I have not read Ayn Rand. And ,for now, I really can not relate to people who talk in her language. But I am no way entitled to form any opinion about her work as long as I have not tried cherishing it. Yadi tairna seekhna hai to pani me to utarana padega. Bahar khade hokarpani ke baare me comments keval murkh hi karte hai.
This is what compels me to thank AK. He gave me chance to get my hands on something new. For me it was something different from DDLJ/KANK/Omkara/Dor or any other movie I have watched till now. Cannot say If I will ever like it. Or dislike it for that matter. But I will give it a chance for sure.
Coming back to AK, he deserves one loud round of applause. He is doing what he wants. As he himself has mentioned in his blog at PFC that K is his own reflection. K tells "nobody tells me what to do. Nobody teaches me anything." Plain arrogance. By making No Smoking, AK tells the same. You need to have guts to do something like this and still be not fool. AK does exactly the same.
Coming out the theatre and now after thinking about it for sometime [and of course reading a lot about it] I can feel AK smiling all along.
I enjoyed watching it.
Well Done AK. Keep it up.
Indeed it's a racist "chant". It began in Spain, where the Spanish hooligans began to "chant" like monkeys(hoo hoo hoo...) every time a coloured player of the other team had possession of the ball.Here is what wikipedia explains as monkey chanting:
It reached international status when in a friendly, England's Shaun Wright-Phillips and Ashley Cole were subjected to monkey chants in Madrid, prompting a furious reaction from the Football Association.
Since last year I haven't heard any monkey chants, so I hope you shouldn't hear any more about this ugly business.
Kecak (pronounced: "KEH-chahk", alternate spellings: Ketjak, Ketjack, and Ketiak), a form of Balinese music drama, originated in the 1930s and is performed primarily by men. Also known as the Ramayana Monkey Chant, the piece, performed by a circle of 100 or more performers wearing checked cloth around their waists, percussively chanting "cak" and throwing up their arms, depicts a battle from the Ramayana where monkeys help Prince Rama fight the evil King Ravana. However, Kecak has roots in sanghyang, a trance-inducing exorcism dance.And here is a link to video of monkey chanting.
ps: By any chance if you thought that crowd in Indian Stadiums was calling Symonds monkey then you can just forget this mistake as a side effect of going by the face value of Andrew Symonds.
