Review : Fashion

Rating : Above average (3.8/5)
Genre : Drama
Year : 2008
Running time : 2 hours 40 minutes
Director : Madhur Bhandarkar
Cast : Priyanka Chopra, Raj Babbar, Mugdha Godse, Kangana Ranaut, Harsh Chhaya, Samir Soni, Kitu Gidwani, Arbaaz Khan, Ashwin Mushran, Chitrashi Rawat, Arjun Bawa
Kid rating : PG-13

FASHION : CLICHED BUT INERESTING

This film is quite a surprise, in that it features Priyanka Chopra, in a meaty, acting-oriented role. So far Priyanka has acted in films which pretty much ask 2 things of her : look pretty, and look dumb (i.e.; leave the thinking to the macho hero). She has THAT act down pat, so I was much surprised to see that she did quite well in this film too.

Fashion is your regular Bhandarkar expose, this time of the fashion world, the models, and the lifestyle of the ramp-walking glitterati. It chronicles the ambition of small-town girl Meghana Mathur. Not that Chandigarh is a small-town really, but apparently it’s value system is. So Meghana faces the standard opposition from the parents, or rather her father (Raj Babbar) when she wants to become a model. Her mother, played by Kiran Joneja is shown as being more supportive.

Anyway, Meghana refuses to listen to dear old Dad and hotfoots it to Mumbai, where the parental connections have ensured her a residence with some family friends. Meghana is ambitious and holds onto her dream with tenacity. Along the way she makes friends (a struggling male model) and enemies (super-model Shonali played by Kangana). Success comes, but at a price, and when Meghana realises that she’s hit rock-bottom and burnt her bridges there is almost no one left to turn to . . .

Priyanka is the poster-girl for glamor, so it is quite fitting that she play the lead. Kangana Ranaut, very model-like too, appears as model Shonali, who’s too entrenched in her drug-prone habits, to ever reclain the top spot in the modelling world again. She does good, as she always seems to in such manic-depressive roles. Mugdha Godse who plays Janet Sequiera, Meghana’s street-smart, model friend who didn’t quite make it, plays her part quite realistically. After many years, we see Kitu Gidwani in a short role as smart, sleek Anisha – the owner of a fashion agency. And there is also Arbaz Khan, the king of the fashion of the world, who takes Meghana under his wing.

Everyone is quite gay in this film, and I mean that literally. From Rohit, the assistant designer who helps Meghana take her first baby steps in the world of fashion, to Rahul Arora, the big-time fashion designer who concocts a marriage of convenience to keep nosy society at bay, the men of the fashion industry are quite queer (straight men have no creativity, huh ?). The women are hard-nosed, it’s a dog-eat-dog world, you’re up one day and down the next. The film is peppered with cliches – there are the drugs, the easy lapses of morality, and the air-kissing. Even so Bhandarkar manages to tell the story well, and without overtly trying to shock or sensationalize – something which a less talented director might easily have done.

This is a good film – it’s not spectacular. Any by that I mean that while it does keep you interested in the happenings of the film, you don’t feel very much for the main protagonist, Meghana. And that is partly due to the fact that Meghana’s character does not have adequate depth – yes, she is believable enough in her fresh-from-Punjab bangs, and her salwar-kameezed portfolio, but could have been better sketched. A finer actresss might have gone the extra mile, but Priyanka, although doing a commendable job, has as yet to hone her skills.

Please note that the subject matter is on the sad (if not depressive) side, and does not lend itself to being the Friday night entertainer. If you’re in a sombre mood, and ready for a thoughtful watch, this will probably interest you.

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