After exposing the Page3 culture, corporate world and life of beggars with his films, Madhur Bhandarkar is back with a realistic film and this time he gives a take on the dazzling fashion industry. And as expected, Madhur Bhandarkar does the same good old job with Fashion. The film wonderfully throws light on the behind the scenes of fashion and ramp shows and is surely worth watching!
The story of the movie: Meghna Mathur (Priyanka Chopra), a resident of Chandigarh, dreams of becoming a supermodel. She moves to Mumbai to fulfill her dreams. Success was there in her destiny and after some rejections, she finally gets what she had dreamt of. She befriends struggling models Janet (Mughda Godse) and Manav (Arjan Baweja). Abhijeet Sarin (Arbaaz Khan), the big daddy of fashion world and owner of retail giant Panache, gets smitted by Meghna and signs her for Panache. She becomes famous and life was going great for her. But by achieving so much success in such less time, she became overconfident, selfish and arrogant. And that’s what led to her downfall.
Fashion is not merely an expose of the fashion industry. It is basically the story of Meghna Mathur and her ups and downs. The narrative has some fabulous sequences of fashion industry. Be it wardrobe malfunction, designers being gay, one designer accusing the other of stealing his designs etc- whatever you have heard about the fashion industry, you’ll find it in Fashion! That makes Fashion realistic, entertaining and thoroughly interesting!
The first half of Fashion was just outstanding! In fact, the narrative is so interesting that you won’t even get the time to blink! All this was possible because of Madhur Bhandarkar’s excellent execution. Some of the sequences were very well handled. Priyanka meeting Arbaaz for the first time, Priyanka’s tiff with Harsh Chhaya, Priyanka’s breakup were some of the best sequences.
The second half was great too. However, the film loses grip at several places in the 2nd hour. Also, the film tends to drag and is quite long. However, the film picks up in the last 20 minutes. The climax was exciting and nail biting and the story’s culmination was totally acceptable.
In spite of flaws, Madhur Bhandarkar deserves a pat on the back for his amazing job. The fashion shows, the ramp walking, and the backstage chaos-everything looked real and interesting. A lot of effort and time must have gone in filming such sequences. Fashion may not be Madhur’s best film but it is certainly a winner!
Each performance in the film is brilliant and deserves at least a nomination in the awards, if not the award. This is undoubtedly Priyanka Chopra’s best performance till date. She does such a fantastic job, especially in the 2nd half that you’ll be speechless! She was severely criticized for her choice of films like Love Story 2050, Chamku, Drona etc. But with Fashion, she can heave a sigh of relief! And her next flick Dostana also looks like a sure shot hit! Good times have finally started for Ms. Chopra!
Kangana Ranaut also gives an incredible performance-in fact, better than Priyanka Chopra. She wonderfully performs the role of a drug addict supermodel. She is total natural in all the scenes. Note her breakdown immediately after her wardrobe malfunction-she was terrific! It is highly amazing that she performs such complex characters with such an ease! She is surely a powerhouse of talent!
I didn’t expect much from Mughda Godse since this is her first film and she’s a model. But surprisingly, she does an equally good job as Priyanka and Kangana! Her plus point was that she looked confident. Arjan Bajwa was excellent! Ever since I saw him in Guru as Arzaan Contractor, I was looking forward to see him in more movies. He is hugely talented and gives a great performance. And his voice is so sexy! However, he didn’t have much scope in the 2nd half.
Arbaaz Khan had a major role in the film and does a great job. Samir Soni was quite likeable. He is so talented that he can even handle a film alone! Harsh Chhaya was the funniest in the film. Kitu Gidwani looked sexy and gives a wonderful performance. Ashwin Mushran as Rohit was likeable and funny too. Chitrashi Rawat, Komal Chautala of Chak De! India, does a confident job. Rohit Roy, Suchitra Pillai, Raj Babbar, Kiran Juneja were good.
The film has lots of guest appearances such as Karan Johar, Dabboo Ratnani, Jessy Randhawa, Rakshanda Khan, Konkana Sen Sharma, Ranvir Shorey and Manini De. Madhur Bhandarkar himself is also there in the film and his scene was the funniest in the film!
Salim-Sulaiman’s music was excellent and suits the mood of the film. The best song is undoubtedly ‘Fashion Ka Jalwa’. The duo’s background score was as usual perfect.
Mahesh Limaye’s cinematography was great but some scenes were too bright. However, the fashion/ramp shows were well-shot. Nitin Desai’s art direction was first rate. Special mention should be made of the costumes which were excellent and glamorous and of course made a fashion statement!
Madhur Bhandarkar, Anuradha Tiwary and Ajay Monga’s story and screenplay was near perfect. It is evident that a lot of research must be done and the trio succeeded in creating an interesting script. However, they could have done a better job in the 2nd half. Madhur Bhandarkar’s direction was as usual flawless. He excellently handled some of the important sequences and succeeded in making them memorable. The film unintentionally also gives a message that never quit-keep trying, especially when life gives you a second chance!
Some of the best scenes of the film:
1. The first scene of the film
2. Meghna’s meet with Rohit at Café Coffee Day
3. Meghna meeting Kitu Gidwani and Arbaaz Khan for the 1st time
4. Priyanka’s tiff with Harsh Chhaya
5. Kangana’s advice to Priyanka inside the loo (excellent scene)
6. Priyanka’s break up with Arjan
7. Samir Soni’s proposal to Mughda Godse
8. Kangana’s wardrobe malfunction
9. Priyanka arrested for drunk driving
Raj Babbar encouraging Priyanka to make a comeback
The last 15 minutes of the film
On the whole, Fashion is a great entertainer which entertains and enlightens you and also shocks you a bit! It gives a realistic portrayal of the fashion world and also has a great story and interesting characters. Performances are surely award-winning! Watch the film and have a great time!