Cinema mirrors society, and we can relate to the characters on screen because the characters’ lives are wrapped up in the same vices and virtues that surround us. One such vice that has affected the masses through decades is the portrayal of tobacco use on-screen. ‘World No Tobacco Day’ is celebrated on May 31, and it is important to address how pop culture and cinema have normalised tobacco use. From Tony Montana (Al Pacino) from Scarface to Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy) from Peaky Blinders, our favourite characters have always been glorified as “iconic cigar/cigarette smokers,” more than anything else.
Metrolife brings to you seven films that dealt with tobacco use:
No Smoking (2007)
The neo-noir, psychological thriller by Anurag Kashyap is adapted from Stephen King’s short story ‘Quitters, Inc’. The John Abraham and Ayesha Takia-starrer is about a chain-smoker who visits a rehabilitation centre to quit smoking. The protagonist signs a cheque for Rs 21 lakh and is released from rehab but with a warning that his family will be killed if he dares to smoke again.
Annaamalai (1992)
The Rajinikanth-starer directed by Suresh Krissna is famous for the signature cigarette flip. Decades after they were first seen on the big screen, Rajinikanth’s gimmicks with cigarettes are still in fashion. The use of cigarettes in ‘Annaamalai’ is a classic example of how cigarettes enhance the machismo of a character.
Kabir Singh (2019)
The Hindi romantic drama directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga starring Shahid Kapoor and Kiara Advani is a quintessential example of toxic masculinity being enhanced by cigarettes and alcohol use. In the film, Kabir Rajdheer Singh (Shahid Kapoor) is a surgeon who performs surgery under the influence of alcohol. Riding on high toxic masculinity, when Kabir is not drinking, his screen time is shared by a cigarette.
Haré Rama Haré Krishna (1971)
The musical drama was directed by Dev Anand, starring himself alongside Mumtaz and Zeenat Aman. The film’s famous number ‘Dum Maro Dum’ (‘Puff, take a puff!’), is a classic and is more prominent than the film itself. The song was filmed in Kathmandu. In the song, Zeenat Aman is seen in hippie attire, smoking cannabis and cigarettes. Five decades later, the song is still a part of the playlist of youngsters.
Rang De Basanti (2006)
The Hindi drama film was directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and co-written by Rensil D’Silva. One of the main characters in the film Karan Singhania (Siddharth), is a troubled soul who shares a sour relationship with his father. He is not interested in his father’s wealth and business and detests India. Despite being surrounded by his college friends most of the time, Karan is often quiet and serious. To complement his troubled personality, he is often seen with a cigarette in his hand — a classic example of cigarettes as a companion in solitude.
KGF (2018)
The Kannada action-drama-thriller, written and directed by Prashanth Neel, is one of the biggest hits the Kannada film industry has produced. However, the content in the film was problematic in its own ways. Just like Kabir Singh, the character of Rocky (Yash) glorifies everything that they should not — from smoking to harassing a woman. The second chapter of ‘KGF’ is set to release in 2021. The Karnataka Health Department has issued a notice to Yash already for the film’s teaser in which he is seen lighting up a cigarette with the red-hot barrel of a gun.
Moothon (2019)
The Malayalam film directed by Geetu Mohandas starring Nivin Pauly is about a 14-year-old child Mulla from Lakshadweep who travels to Mumbai in search of his elder brother Akbar and ends up in the badlands of Bombay.
Akbar is a complex character with a troubled past and is drawn into substance abuse, primarily because of the nature of his job in the badlands of Mumbai. Cigarettes are one of the many vices that this complex character has that complement his part in the film.