Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- paranoid
- surreal
- oppressive
- late night viewing
- arthouse thriller night
What critics said
Critics found the soundtrack unconventional and occasionally exciting, while broader aggregate reception was divided over the film’s execution.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
K’s experiences after entering Prayogshala destabilize the boundaries between psychological breakdown, coercive treatment, and supernatural threat.
Prayogshala forcibly enrolls K, extracts a large cheque, and threatens him and his family if he smokes again.
K’s chain-smoking drives his marital collapse and makes him vulnerable to an institution that claims power over his body and choices.
The film combines a wealthy contemporary Indian milieu with increasingly uncanny spaces and a paranoid, shadowed atmosphere.
Films like No Smoking, and why
Mulholland Drive
psychological horror, surreal identity crisis, and oppressive neo-noir atmosphere
The Machinist
absurdist psychological thriller, fractured reality, and escalating existential dread
Tumbbad
stylized Indian horror, social allegory, and unsettling supernatural menace
Brazil
darkly comic psychological horror and an individual trapped by an authoritarian system
Movie Details
- Director
- Anurag Kashyap
- Release Date
- 2007-10-26
- Runtime
- 126 min
- Rating
- 6.9 / 10 (80)
Cast
- John Abraham
- Ayesha Takia
- Paresh Rawal
- Ranvir Shorey
- Kiku Sharda
- Vikramaditya Motwane
- Jesse Randhawa
- Bipasha Basu
- Anurag Kashyap
- Pravishi Das
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Eros Now Select Apple TV channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is No Smoking about?
- A wealthy chain-smoker’s attempt to reclaim his habit plunges him into a coercive treatment labyrinth where addiction, authority, and reality itself become unstable.
- What is No Smoking like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of No Smoking as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is No Smoking violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in No Smoking as mild.
- What did critics think of No Smoking?
- Critics found the soundtrack unconventional and occasionally exciting, while broader aggregate reception was divided over the film’s execution.
- Which films are like No Smoking?
- Films with a similar feel include Mulholland Drive, The Machinist, Tumbbad, and Brazil.
- How long is No Smoking?
- No Smoking runs 126 minutes.
- Where can I watch No Smoking?
- In United States, No Smoking streams on Eros Now Select Apple TV channel.
