help me understand this....please

man i cant figure out the head and tail of the movie
can anyone unravel the layers in the movie

only thing i can understand is the obsession is a bad thing
and ayeshia takia is hot

Look at this, it will clear up most of your doubts -

http://apoorvkhatreja.blogspot.com/2007/12/no-smoking-uncovered.html

Please excuse any grammatical mistakes. written in hurry!

Nice Question by hrk walt

Answer : The Entire Movie was a Dream. In the End, John Wakes up and walks towards the Basin and looks himself at the Mirror examining his cut-off fingers (reason not specified)

First thing you have to understand is that, in Dreams, bizarre things happen. Anything can occur within our Dream which many a times is silly or stupid or extraordinary. Those are the random patterns which occurs without voluntary thinking.

1. the siberia dream

The Movie starts with his Dream in which he is "Dreaming". It happens. Many times we dream of dreaming and also have a Deja Vu effect when the same Dream repeats. Thats what John felt when the dream was repeated and was adhering to his wife that he his not sure whether he is dreaming the same event or was it for real.


2. THE wife/secretary thing

Please understand that bizarre things happen in a Dream. It may be his real-life fantasy of his wife being his secretary which happens in his dream. It may be also, that his wife is possessive that she also appears as his love interest in the office. Or just without any reason, its like that.

3. if they don't make his bro commit suicide, why does he do it himself

Again, bizarre things happen. In his Dream he does not want his brother to die, so he dreams of repeated attempts till finally he dies by holding the power cable.


4. he smoke the 3rd cigarette and his brother died, why were his fingers cut and his wife alive

The Movie was entirely a Dream. His fingers were cut in real-life and wife is also alive in real life.


5. the prison & 6. the rat thing & 7. the tub leads into the prison & 8. the people watching other people from the cell & 9. the new year party and the book(he reads before going) & 10. he points at baba bengali in the new year party and all that follows

Answer. Random and Bizarre Dreaming.


Now, you must be thinking whats the big deal in a movie which entirely is a virtual illustration of a Bad Dream and no moral or definite end?

Answer. Please treat this Movie as a piece of Art. The Dream based movies even today is made by well-known directors and today is a separate genre.

Dream based Movies: Blue Velvet, Mulholland Dr., The Machinist, Stay (2005/I), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

Director David Lynch (critically acclaimed) known for making artistically superior but bizarre movies, started it all by the film "Blue Velvet". I recommend you to watch this Movie, and may be then you shall accept the concept of "No Smoking"


There were hints given in the Movie that its a Dream such as the blurred-wavy effect given at many instances. Please also note "The Dream Labyrinth". Many a times we dream of getting inside some place which is so much like puzzle and cannot come out. It may be dark and confusing and roam around those places deeper and deeper. Just like John going deeper and deeper to find Prayogshala and could not escape once he was held by Paresh Rawal.


"No Smoking" is no less than any other Hollywood art product of this genre. The pattern of dreaming was more acceptable and clear.

Hello Friend,

I just saw this movie and I am a huge fan of abstract movies, this one deserves kudos. May be you already know the answers by this time but I have got some of my own opinions which you will not find on internet elsewhere. For few of the
points, I referred some discussions though.

1) Siberia is a having communist rule, there is no individual liberty. So it represents oppression. K strongly believes in his autonomy and is suddenly made to give up that liberty. His dream state just signifies that.

2) The wife/Secretory thing - You may see some very good people around you, but when a self-righteous attitude takes over, you may lose your moral ground. This thing is about faithfulness, which is there only if we stop being a self-righteous. Both characters are the projections of K's thoughts.

3) Bro Suicide: Remember that the whole film is a representation of his sub-conscious. No one actually dies or gets hurt. K is realizing that his chain-smoking is also dangerous to people around him. Not only in health perspective, but from many dimensions.

4) Fingers cut: Notice which fingers are cut, they are the ones in which people hold the cigarette. Neither his brother is dead nor his wife, not his fingers are cut. When he realizes the worst thing happening to him and his loved ones because of smoking, he quits smoking.

5) The prison: There is no actual prison. The prison represents the state that K's subconscious (which is crazy for smoking) is separated from his body. The sub-conscious can talk to his body if he had paid that 1 Rs. The one rupee represents the very small things we miss in life and those later impact us in a different way, in fact to some extent that the situation is not in our hands and there is only regret.

6) The tub: The dialog 'I reached here through bathtub, him though Almari...' signifies the subconscious of other people going through the same. Those other people are also projections of his mind. After realizing all the harm cigarette does to you and your loved ones, he avoids cigarette packet and prefers bath tub in the end which leads him to the prison and ultimately salvages his soul from smoking habit.

7) The people watching other people: As I suggested, there is no real prison and prisoners. K is thinking of a friend who also goes for the same treatment. When you quit cigarette, it is important that your smoker friends understand your decision. You would always wish that your friends should also follow your path.

8) Baba: He was not a Baba but a doctor who helped K quit smoking.

9) Last burning scene: It is a burning of his soul which was infected with the habit of smoking. So when he wakes up (still it is not a real life incident in K's life), the two fingers are cut. Means he quit smoking.

10) Why to get those fingers back: Even if you quit smoking, you still realize that 'missing' thing from life. How to get rid of this feeling? Make your friends quit smoking and that feeling is gone.

I hope this will help to all new readers. I hope the Indian audiences to be ready for such kind of films soon, then only we can say our film industry is in right direction.

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