Last night I saw Fashion. I was quite impressed by it considering that Madhur Bhandarkar has a penchant of unearthing the truth and presenting it before his audience. However I was a little disappointed with the treatment of the subject. Coz though the name was Fashion the focus seemed more on the models or rather their way of life and not on the industry as a whole. By this what I mean is, I would have liked to see more of the behind the scenes where fashion designers exploit darzis and karigars (selling a garment for Rs. 20,000/- of which merely a pittance goes to the craftsmen), plagiarism from both local and international designers (which is a big thing going on under the name of inspiration), how do designers get ’inspired’, maybe touch upon the lives of the unskilled labour who like the models are the real pillars of the fashion industry…

The film focussed completely on stereotypes (which I felt was not not Madhur). Be it the gay designers (cmon not all designers are gay and even if they are not all of them are effeminate), the coke snorting models, the business tycoon with his trophy wife could perhaps have been treated differently. Alsowhoever told him that a showstopper walks in the beginning of the show. I may be no fashionista but hello show stopper means one who ends the show…so much for research. Also in some scenes there were direct references to Gia (a film based on the supermodel Gia who struggles to rise to fame and eventually struggles to maintain it thereby sniffing out her life in the end) and Devil Wears Prada (where Meghna breezes in late for a dinner with her boyfriend and friends and nonchalantly blames the fashion industry).

What I liked was the portrayal of anguish, loneliness, the transformation from a small town wide-eyed girl to a catty supermodel unable to handle fame. The scenes that I felt stood out were the ones where Kangana flings the finger bowl on her boyfriend and where she openly mocks Kittu Gidwani for lecturing her non-stop. However I still didn’t figure out exactly what made Meghna sleep with Abhijit. I mean there was no such hint on his part either subtly or openly. And which woman in her right mind wouldn’t use a contraceptive if you’re sleeping with a married man…hello ever heard of a condom or a Pill 72…

Of the performances, I think Kangana wins hands down. The woman is way too good…almost Hollywood material…I could see Gia in her (portrayed superbly by Angelina Jolie). The other person who I thought shone in a small role was Chitrashi Rawat as Shomu the small time model co-ordinator. Her brisque style was very reminiscent of these model co-ordinators who arrange for small ads, etc. Mugdha Godse as Janet showed that models could act too…she supported the film very well with her quiet demeanour. Arjan Bajwa as the struggling boyfriend fit the bill showing the side of this industry where compromise is the keyword. Priyanka Chopra is a seasoned actor by now and throughtout the film I could see a faint innocence in her eyes be it beginning her career, stomping on grapes with Arbaaz, breaking the news of her pregnancy to him, smoking her first cigarette or even returning back to family and friends.

The one message that comes out loud and clear is that success if not handled well will eventually lead to your downfall and that when after every hardship, you reach the top, you realise that it is very lonely up there.

All in all an ok film…a tad too long…I had expected something more hard hitting after seeing Page 3, Chandani Bar and Traffic Signal (I stopped buying strawberries off the road)…