First and foremost, without detracting anything from the vast talent of Mr. Madhur Bhandarkar, I would like to say that we make a mistake when we call him a realistic film director. True, he makes gritty, hard-hitting cinema, a cinema which always makes a handful of exposés about the issue he takes up, but that doth not a realistic film director make! Take his first movie, Chandni Bar, the movie that gave this tag to him. Do you think that was reality cinema? I rather think it was a neo-realistic portrayal of Tabu’s character in the world of dance bars. It was not a story about the character working in a dance bar. Got the point?
And that is the biggest failing of Fashion. There are no exposés here, nothing in the movie that can make you go hmm, and nothing that impresses. First of all, I would highly disapprove of calling Fashion a movie about the fashion industry; in fact it is the journey of a single woman. Some anecdotes are thrown here and about, but none of these are things that your momma did not warn you about. They are just some well-meaning clichés strung together and worked into the plot.
The Plot
Meghna Mathur(Priyanka Chopra) is a wannabe supermodel who catches the next flight to Mumbai despite paternal opposition. She has spunk but has no good modeling portfolio. She has a gay designer buddy who is egging her on. To get an expensive profile done, Meghna takes up a lingerie(this is where half of India will learn how to pronounce’lingerie’ the right way, thanks Bhandarkar) assignment to make up for the money.
She gets the profile done, networks at a party and grabs the attention of the big daddy of the fashion world and the owner of the fashion brand Panache, Abhijeet Sarin(Arbaaz Khan). He fancies her, gives her a plum assignment, a big flat and good sex. She works in close association with Anisha Roy(Kitu Gidwani), a modeling agency head who has Panache as her big client. She is glory-struck with the current supermodel, the showstopper Shonali Gujral(Kangana Ranaut) and wants to be her. Being under Sarin’s and Roy’s tutelage, she soon gets there. She gets her plum assignments.
Sarin fancies her so much that he wants Shonali to be replaced with her. It is unjust, but Meghna accepts the offer. She becomes the showstopper and the show continues… But arrogance bloats her head soon enough and she becomes the disdain of her clients.
Meghna gets pregnant with Sarin and aborts, because pregnancy voids a clause in a contract she has signed with his modeling company. She goes into depression, is caught DUI, chases lines of coke, has an overnight fling with a negro and thinks what her life has come to. She catches the next flight back home.
Her opposing father now sides with her and motivates her to go back to Mumbai. Then on, it is a re-rise to fame story.
Did you notice that I did not even mention about Mugdha Godse, Samir Soni, Harsh Chhaya, Arjan Bajwa, etc.? That’s because these people have nothing substantial to do in the film except be there as Meghna rises, falls and then again rises.
The Analysis
The biggest flaw with the movie is the casting of Priyanka Chopra. This movie revolves around a sassy lass who has it in her to get to the top. For this role, a real supermodel was called for. Priyanka isn’t one. She doesn’t look like a supermodel even when the covers of Vogue are screaming above her images. And she is definitely a lesser actor.
There are inconsistencies. The transition of Meghna Mathur from a lass-with-attitude to a supermodel-with-arrogance is not seamlessly built in.
Another flaw is the character of her boyfriend whom she makes on the way, Manav(Arjan Bajwa). Their romance wastes a lot of screen time. But the romance fails and the audience feels cheated, when instead some more revealing points could have been shown.
The movie is too long! Too much melodrama, too much time. The second half drags interminably, especially since even a ten-year old kid can predict what will happen. There are no surprises, no revelations, just plain boring acting sustaining the film along to its end.
People who go for Fashion will certainly go with expectations of finding out some truths about the industry, wouldn’t they? Well, the movie fails to show any of that. We have heard of models sleeping around, we know of gay designers and celebrities and their marriages of convenience with successful women, we know how models are replaced overnight for internal agency problems, we know of the backbiting that goes on in the green room. So, what’s new, Mr. Bhandarkar?
And would a supermodel like Meghna be so stupid so as to sleep with someone and not insist on a condom? That is the whole premise the films stands on, and it is stupid to say the least.
This is actually a story that a Karan Johar or a Yash Chopra could have handled more deftly. After all, it’s not a revelation of the fashion industry in India at all. It is actually a rise-fall-rise story and when you actually see the film, there are scenes where you think a director of that niche would have done better justice.
But, there are flashes of brilliance. Kangana Ranaut excels. There are three scenes where she is exceptionally brilliant. As a haughty supermodel, she is sipping on wine even as she is supposed to enter the ramp. At the signal, the wine glass is taken from her and she walks on the stage as though she was preparing for the walk all day. This shot, captured in a single frame motion shows Kangana’s various transformations of face and remains with you even after you have walked off from the cinema. The second shot is when she meets Meghana alone in the washroom. If you have watched the Dark Knight, the shot is strangely reminiscent of the Joker’s many confrontations with Batman. The third shot is definitely of the wardrobe malfunction. Just watch her regaining her poise, her fluid eye movements and you will know this is an actress to watch out for.
Technical Points
Surprisingly, for a movie all about fashion, the costumes are nothing much to speak about. In one scene in particular, the attire and hairstyle of Kangana Ranaut’s character actually made her look like Johnny Depp’s costume in Edward Scissorhands! Mugdha Godse is stylish in every frame, but that must be because she is really a model.
The music requires a big applause. You will never know how important a role music plays in carrying a film forward unless you watch this one. It haunts you and actually moves on the pace of some of the boring ramp sequences. Salim-Suleiman are inconsistent, but they are good when they need to be. Such as in Fashion.
Endnote
Fashion is quite unlike Madhur Bhandarkar’s earlier movies. It is not an exposé on the industry. You will learn nothing new about what happens in the modeling world. This is not a Page 3 or a Traffic Signal or even a Corporate. I would call it the weakest film of Bhandarkar’s career with more flaws than there are merits.
It is an incomplete movie in many ways. What about the financial problems of the models? What about the Bollywood-politician-models nexus? There are so many points that this movie could have covered, but doesn’t. Fashion does not impress. It is like a good looking pizza with varied toppings, but no salt to flavor it.