moviestar26
Ever since Madhur Bhandarkar made the critically acclaimed movie 'chandni bar', one after another he has been making movies on exposing the negative side of different societies. His previous works such as 'corporate' and 'page 3' I regard as his best movies. They had a engaging synopsis and depicted the business and celebrity world in an authentic manner without any over exaggeration. 'Fashion' is in a league of its own. The movie charts the rise and downfall of a super model. After the 2 hour 45 minute duration we can see how much investment had been put in the production of this picture. Madhur has clearly put a lot of time and research behind making this movie however if more attention was given to the plot, the movie would have become a more solid substance. From his point of view he has given a very biased one sided perception of the fashion and modelling world. He tends to put forward to us a negative view and that there is nothing positive. Why ? is what I ask. There surely has to be something positive in this world.This is a feminist movie and in my opinion many men and woman who are / or aspire to be a model will find it interesting. However a few people who have no interest or knowledge about the fashion world will most probably need to give the movie a second viewing to give their honest judgement.************************SPOILERS AHEAD************************ We are introduced to meghna mathur (priyanka chopra) who is a small town girl from Punjab who aspires to become a super model. Against her fathers wishes she is persistent so she leaves for Mumbai and stays at a relatives residence. Initially she goes through a struggling phase from giving auditions, photo shoots as well as attending hotel parties so she can get noticed. At this point Janet (mugda godse) becomes her friend and guides her along the way. Meghna agrees to pay 50,000 for a high class photo shoot which leads her being put forward to the agency panache. At this moment she meets the owner Mr sareen (arbaaz khan), who makes her the brand model as well acquainting himself romantically with meghna. From that moment onwards her career takes a downfall due to having an abortion and later having a one night stand with a stranger. However after a year or two she is still mentally obsessed with the profession and decides to make a comeback. In the end she becomes a positive person and realises that to become successful in life it is not always correct to take the short cuts. *********END OF SPOILERS*********************** Without a doubt this is Priyanka's best performance to date. She has groomed herself in to the role well and really sunk her teeth in to the character. She displayed the grey shades with ease as well. Her portrayal of a model was realistic. The full potential in her acting talent was unleashed before us. The movie contained many shades of 'page 3' and was very reminiscent. Many people made cameo appearances. Just as I mentioned earlier the movies length in duration goes against the movie. As it can often make the viewer loose interest and concentration at times. The main plot does not begin until after the first hour. Maybe a few minor editing and cuts would have helped the movie. There are many ramp walk show and good looking bodies at display in every moment in the movie, which certainly raises a few eyebrows. These portions actually add to the movie's duration. I feel that special mention has to be given to the cinematography department. The quality of many scenes and moments were enhanced by wonderfully capturing it. Salim Suleiman's background score has its hear in the right place. However a few moments did not require music, this eradicated the feeling at certain turning moments. Afew scenes would have had a good enough impact even without the use of music. Many fashion designers have been shown to be gay in the movie. Madhur fails to interpret the reason behind this. It was not an assumption that I could swallow. I was impressed by Mugda Godse's acting debut. Keeping in mind that she was previously a model, she has proved that she has great potential to be an actress. I could not understand why her character had no involvement in the plot or even in Priyanka's story. There was no intervention on behalf of her, neither from Samir Soni. Kangana Ranaut overshadowed Priyanka on many occasions. It was a shame that she did not have much scope. It would have been a pleasure to have seen more of her. However she is beginning to become type-casted in the 'woman in distress' roles. Arbaaz Khan was the wrong choice for the role. He did not display any emotion or expressions through the character. Someone more established would have fitted the role better.Overall this is an enjoyable movie which can attract much attention from the female audiences. Plus there is a good in-depth insight in to different routes that are taken in to becoming a model. Priyanka's performance is another plus aspect. The 2 negative aspects such as a shallow plot and long running time of the movie might possibly deter viewer from giving their two thumbs up.26/10
sunny155
I saw this movie yesterday and Priyanka Chopra's role as a Fashion Model was fantastic. The movie portrays the dark side of Indian Fashion Industry. Meghna Mathur (Priyanka) an ambitious girl from Chandigarh moves to Mumbai to become model, without the consent of her father. She struggles hard to become a model and faces the dark side of fashion industry. She becomes top model very soon but she becomes too much arrogant and involves in all immoral activities. Her career graph begin seeing downfall and she looses all friends and relations because of her excessive pride.The role of Kittu Gidwani and Priyanka reminds me of Meryll Streep and Anna Hathway from "Devil Wears Prada". Both movies are somewhat long and have similarities.The Cast in the movie is superb and well selected- Priyanka Chopra, Kangna Ranaut, Mugdha Godse, Arbaaz khan, Kitu Gidwani all were superb."Mar Jaava", " Aashiyana" Songs were also excellent and suits very well to theme of movie.A must see movie from (real life) film maker Madhur Bhandarkar.
bobbysing
Madhur Bhandarkar's all earlier films, were no doubt based on realistic themes, but with "Fashion", he dives more deep into the human psyche of ambition and greed. Unexpectedly, "Fashion" comes out to be a more emotional and psychological experience along with being hard hitting on the fashion fraternity.Everyone was expecting that "Fashion" will target the designer world and would try to reveal its hidden secrets like we had seen in "Page3". As expected everything is there in it, the casting couch, the gay world, wardrobe malfunction, women jealousy, professional rivalry, one night stand, all is in there. But "Fashion" goes beyond these commercial inserts and comes out to be a more powerful movie with some great shocks and performances. Truly speaking I was not expecting the strong philosophical and emotional angle in the second half from Madhur Bhandarkar.In business sense, "Fashion" may not be a huge successful movie as many viewers can find it too emotional, slow and preachy. It can also be said that Indian audiences are not used to this kind of cinema as in the west. Indian viewers believe in more glossy and imaginative world of movies, so I have my doubts on "Fashion" being accepted by them. But since we are all developing our tastes with World Cinema in our home TV channels, so let's hope for the best.Coming to the movie content, it has beautiful ladies with gorgeous looks, delivering best performances of their entire careers. The top most performer is the girl with the minimum scenes and dialogues in the movie but she still manages to burn the screen with her hot talent. She is "Kangna Ranaut". The Bhatt camp has a great sense of talent discovery, this is a proved fact again as Kangna was introduced by them. Kangna undoubtedly gives the best of her career after "Woh Lamhe". In one way the role is an extension of what she did in her debut movie. But here she says it with her eyes and on the ramp, she just gives shivers to all real life ramp walkers.Priyanka Chopra too scores on the performance chart and after "Aitbaar" this is her best movie till date. She is expressive, especially in the second half. The scene when she wakes up and finds a Negro sleeping next to her is mind blowing and one can just imagine the state in which a girl would be after experiencing that unwanted tragedy. We see her best when she loses his confidence and freezes on the ramp and also in the scene when she is given the news about Kangna just before she is going to step on to the ramp. Another actress who wins your heart is Mugdha Godse, as Priyanka's close friend who introduces her to the city and its lifestyle. She really acts and acts well. A great find by Madhur, who once again proves that models can be actors.All others in the supporting cast have also contributed their best. Arbaaz Khan however seems to be stiff. Suchitra Pillai, Harsh Chhaya, Samir Soni and Kittu Gidwani get full marks. Raj Babbar and Kiran Juneja don't do anything new as Priyanka's parents. But one more performer stays in your mind, and he is the bald gay friend of Priyanka, who later also takes her back in his show with open arms. You must have seen him in many TV comedy shows. He gives a superb performance and his contribution must not be forgotten under the shadow of big names.Musically, the film has one great song, "Fashion Ka Hai Yeh Jalwa", which should have been used as the theme music with repeated play at times in the background. But Madhur, opts using it only once in the ramp show. No other song was needed anywhere in the narration.Now, onto some weak points I felt needed attention. First in a movie called "Fashion" there are no major talks, discussions or display of designer clothes. Instead there are more talks of advertising agencies and their top models. There are only indications to the rivalry in fashion designers but the story revolves more around the models and their agencies. Secondly, its hard to digest that a small time girl coming to Mumbai, bags the supermodel tag with only minor struggle in the city and manages to meet the right persons with luck. And lastly, post interval, the movie becomes a bit lengthy and heavy which leads to loss of interest.Madhur did his extensive research before writing the script and he adds all the real life incidents in the story innovatively. It's really impressive how he uses the wardrobe malfunction and the mentally disabled Delhi model references in the movie with dignity. But it's not all glossy, shining and fashion all the way. The long awaited movie has its moments to enjoy but at the same time it is also slow and dragging in its last hour.So if you want to see a sensitive movie along with entertainment, then "Fashion" is a must watch, but I think instead of "Fashion", it should have been titled "Models".
