Blame it on the media reviews and the pre-publicity, but the one thing that goes majorly against Fashion is the high predictability factor. The novelty of the theme is greatly diminished by the fact that we already knew how the movie would progress. The other factor that in my opinion reduced the oomph factor of the movie was the protagonist – Priyanka Chopra. In my opinion, she didn’t suit the glamorous role, maybe because of her very Indian (read homely) looks. The layers of makeup that lend a golden glow to the face of the female leads are evident and distracting. The girls don’t look pretty but heavily pancaked.
The cliché of male designers being feminine is also diverting. The male actors tend to overdo their “feminine” bit by some over the board acting. The role played by Kangna Rannaut is again so predictable that it saps the viewer of any sense of sympathy that they should be feeling towards her character. The overly-kohled eyes and eye-expressions, could have well-suited a horror film. In fact, at times the intimidating approach of the girls almost makes you want to get scared and feel that you are watching a horror flick. You may almost say to yourself, a dialogue from the movie, “Please, spare me the horror.” Or maybe this was the intent of Madhur Bhandarkar – to emphasize the horrifying truth behind the arc lights.
The treatment of the movie is quite similar to Page 3, with the characters being introduced to the audience at a fashion show – remember the Page 3 party when the characters were introduced. So much so that some of the incidents are also common – clandestine affairs with married men, strong women who get thrown out for being too bold and outspoken, the hidden lives of socialites, and marriages of convenience. True to the scale of the movie, there are many characters in the movie, and once in a while one loses track. It’s hard to remember the names of the male designers, maybe because all of them are in the same league, that is gay. There is hardly any unique characterization that makes them stand apart.
And yet, Fashion has some good moments – the ramp shows give the glamorous appeal though I
personally feel that the background score and the music of the movie is lacking. There was scope for many good scores and numbers. The stressful existence, the compromising environment, the issues of single strugglers in tinsel town, the drugs, dope and the downright ruthlessness of the world of Fashion, is effectively displayed on screen. There is no time to love, and there is no time to wait – everyone is on a roller-coaster ride – to nowhere. The sand swiftly slips from closed palms, as circumstances and politics take control.
While the movie draws upon the fact that there is a thin line between the right attitude, and arrogance, it also depicts that the profession of modeling takes from you more than it can give you. What is the talk of town today is a thing bygone tomorrow. There is no place for mistakes, and once you get a break, there are no leisure breaks. It’s a challenge day in and day out, and the future remains insecure. While the movie is able to highlight the darker sides of a world looked upon by most people with awe, I wonder how much it will influence the psyche of society. In its own way, the movie can dissuade parents, and young aspiring models to embark on this long and arduous journey into glamour and fame, because behind the scenes it’s not at all glamorous and the fame is as short-lived, as the kohl and makeup, and the satins and lace.
All in all, the movie can be a one time watch, not because it tells you anything different, or even attempts to tell it differently, because it’s a sneak-peek preview into a world that we want to know more about. You will not come home wiser, but maybe convinced that the profession of modeling is not cakewalk. And for once, you may learn to look at models as not beauty and brawn without brain, but with people living their dreams while sidelining emotions and relationships. Fashion is a serious movie and there are virtually no light or humorous moments. The approximately three-hour movie is dramatically filled with the trials and tribulations of the life of the lead ladies. Rent a DVD or have your pop-corn and hotdogs in a movie hall while getting a reality bite into Fashion galore.
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snigdha Says:
November 3rd, 2008 at 12:27 PMI saw fashion and have the same opinion as yours. I liked the background score becuase I love trancy music. It was very predictable and has nothing new to offer. I feel a crisp editing would have saved the film because there are moments where useless information has been shown, e.g. Kangana Ranuats abusive boyfriend. I feel there was no need to show so many scenes with her bf to prove that she was in a bad relationship. Also the 1st half is very slow the 2nd half is also slow and towards the end the director has hurriedly ended the film. Why did PRiyaka chopra went all the way to save Kangana I was really not convinced nor was I able to relate with her pain and stress. The scene where she says, mai tumhare bachhe ki maa banne wali hu” was so damn stereotypical. I mean an ambitious girl, who is agreessive and is so career oriented, why would she have an unprotected sex with a married man. That came as a little “not so happening”. Priyanka did not look glamorous. She looked pancaked, as you said. All men are either gay or are doping. The director has shown as if in the fahsion world you are either gay or are abusive and every one is on drugs. I mean it came to me as a little too much. To me it is a very dissapointing film. Few moments were nice like the wadrobe malfunction scene was enacted by Kangana very well. I could feel the embarrassment that she went through. All in all, a 1 time watch on a DVD with POPCORN which will keep you busy.
Manish Says:
November 4th, 2008 at 2:26 PMYes, the movie was very much predictable and slow. It was all the media hype over the subject that this movie had got a good opening during festive season else it would have been another big flop for Priyanka.
Infact, I was reading today itself that Prinyanka had asked for Madhur’s horoscope before release and showed to her Pandit to predict about the movie. That shows that they themselves were not confident about the movie.