Fashion

Ramp walks, arrogant supermodels, conniving modeling agency heads, wardrobe malfunctions, and delusional ex models on the street - expectedly it's all there in Madhur Bhandarkar's take on the fashion industry, 'Fashion'. It is a hard hitting look alright, but being a first of its kind perspective as far as Bollywood is concerned, it does get away with a few inconsistencies. In trying to bridge the chasm between perception and reality about the glam world of modeling through the story of the rise and fall of aspiring model Meghna Mathur (Priyanka Chopra) the film does stand out thanks to its well crafted fashion show sequences, intense performances and a nice dose of self deprecating gags (Bhandarkar even plays himself in a cameo!). But where it lacks is that after not taking itself too seriously early on, the second half is a little too intense a tad too long. Priyanka Chopra deserves special mention for easing into the metamorphic role from aspirant to the supermodel who then goes on to lose her modeling mojo. The other two models, Shonali (Kangana Ranaut is pretty tolerable in a slightly uni-dimensional role) and Janet (Mugdha Godse seems comfortable) hold their own as well. Even the support roles (Ashwin Mushran as the very gay Rohit Khanna looks suspiciously familiar to Stanley Tucci's character from 'The Devil Wears Prada' while Kitu Gidwani puts in a quietly confident role as Anisha Roy) are well executed though they are a bit on the caricaturish side. Bhandarkar packs every news-bite possible about the fashion industry into the script which tends to lose focus in the latter half. But as is his wont he does manage to touch a few chords and at least agitate the viewer's mind. In short, as far as the invite to this 'Fashion' show goes, come for Madhur Bhandarkar and stay for Priyanka Chopra!

I watched this movie simply because of the good hype surrounding it. Although it was def. not my type (modeling does not interest me at all). Believe me, anyone would like this film!

Wow. I always thought Priyanka's acting was horrible. Come on after Salaam e ishq I was really wondering who would hire this girl... but maybe its just because she's been in these comedy/sexy roles and not a very complex character. Well guys her performance in Fashion was incredible. She def. deserved the IIFA best actress award over Aish in Jodha Akbar!

That being said this is a very gritty portrayal of the fashion world that whether it is a realistic depiction or not is very interesting. It takes you into an 'alternate universe' in India and fills you in on all the gritty details and all the central characters that by the end you feel like you have journeyed with Meghna (Priyanka's character) all the way and seen it all yourself.

Well all of that being said you are in for a real treat with Fashion. It is no typical masala film as I'm sure you know but go in with an open mind and you will come out feeling like you have really seen something memorable!

I hate when a good story line is stretched out to a point where it starts feeling painful. Sadly, Fashion is one of those films. It starts out well, absorbs you for one and a half hour , but after that the story gets far too complicated and loses it's charm.

Madhur Bhandarkar films have a lot of sadness attached to it. This one starts on a positive note but when the real Madhur Bhandarkar wakes up, it becomes a true sadist film. Meghna's life becomes more and more sad with each passing minute. I know it's about exploring the dark sides of modeling industry, but there was too much of sadness here. There was a comeback part as well, though.

I would have loved it if it ended under 2 hours and there was no need of dragging it to three more quarters.

Madhur Bhandarkar is known for his seemingly realistic, dramatic, often shocking and often women-oriented films. He always takes a medium and tries to expose the reality behind it on film. This time he chose to depict the world of fashion in a film called... well, Fashion. And yes, it's a partly interesting film that might work for the audience. However, it has one main problem: It is stereotypical and overly pessimistic to be called realistic, and in that aspect falls flat. I don't say Bhandarkar's previous works were any different or were particularly optimistic as his films generally present the dark side of his subjects, but this one goes one step down. We learn from the film that everything, sorry, EVERYTHING is bad in the world of Fashion - it is a terrible world of sex (not that it's bad, but this movie is all about infidelity and promiscuity), alcohol, drugs, grief and loneliness. There's nothing good about it - and it is clearly a wrong presentation and far from reality. If you want to make an issue-based film, you should present both sides, and this is not done here. It is also mostly stereotypical in its general portrayal of gay men, which is amusingly exaggerated. Above all, Priyanka's character in the first portions of the film is annoying. She is not presented as an innocent girl, she is presented as a complete, ignorant idiot which is odd for someone who wants to enter the world of fashion and says she wants to be a "supermodel". I don't think a girl who wants to be a supermodel can be that shy. Some other flaws include the sudden way the director shows the girl smoking and drinking without any prior indication to it. This transformation was far too quick to be believable.

Anyway, the film is well executed from the technical point of view. Well, relatively. It's quite well shot, but even technically, there are huge faults, the biggest of them all being the terrible sound and the poor dubbing. Other than the problems mentioned above, however, the film moves at a steady pace. The script is decent, and although the dialogue is sometimes quite cliched, the drama is not completely overdone. At the end of it all, the ending provides a well-deserved sigh of relief, although it's not completely positive. That said, visually it is quite impressive, the music is outstanding ("Maar Jaawan" and "Kuch Khaas Hai" are two of my favourite Hindi songs in recent times), the costume design seems appropriate, the actors are well-cast, and the entire concept of following one model's way to the top, her rise and her fall, is interesting. Priyanka Chopra is impressive. One of her best, though considering her body of work it does not really mean much as of now. She acts with aplomb and looks very attractive which is very important in this kind of roles, and even does well emotionally although far from perfect. The real winner, the real show-stealer, however, is Kangana Ranaut who delivers a knock-out performance. Her confidence, hysterics, good looks, arrogance and confusion are superbly acted. This is not the first time she plays damsels in distress, but she is just too brilliant at it, so I salute it. 'Fashion' may show only one side throughout and may be a bit disturbing at some points, but towards the end it shows a brighter, more optimistic side, which was missing during the entire show and is reasonably worth the wait. Prepare yourself for an entertaining flick about a girl who tries to make her dream come true, but don't expect to see a fair representation or even a remotely correct depiction of the fashion world.

Madhur Bhandarkar is known for revealing the stark truths of various facets of the Indian society. And this definitely doesn't change with Fashion as well. A well told story of a small town girl with big aspirations, who loses herself to the devouring fashion industry only to re discover herself at the end of it all. Your routine run of the mill story? Not quite. Madhur has picked up important events in India's fashion industry (wardrobe malfunction, the demented model found in the markets etc.) and shown what all models go through. The identities of various designers, how the industry REALLY works and how a fashion career is to be perceived are very well told. The music is awesome, and the ramp scenes are truly genius.

The downside? the movie is too long, could be cut short by half an hour at least. Priyanka Chopra doesn't always look as glamorous as she should, but Kangana Ranaut justifies her role completely and pulls of a good show. All in all, definitely not to miss, what with the lean bollywood season going on, fashion is definitely a'show stopper'