Movie Review: Fashion

Strong, yet not too intense, Madhur Bhandarkar's Fashion, unlike most of his previous movies, doesn't shock and scare you. It does touch you, it might make you cry a little at times, but you leave with a smile and lighter heart.

Priyanka plays the role of a small town (Chandigarh?) girl, Meghana Mathur, in Mumbai to pursue her dreams of being a super-model. Her spark, some good connections, and some luck, instantly propels her right to the top of Mumbai's glamour world of high fashion. However, power corrupts her - her attitude slowly but surely becomes her arrogance, old friends and contacts are forgotten, then cut out, and the spark in her eyes is slowly replaced by the lost glaze of a cocaine user. And then, just when it looks like it's too late... she gives herself a second chance.

The movie is all about Priyanka. She's looking her best ever, and she's acted very well - although, I guess the real strength is in the way her character has been developed - her transition from a sweet small town girl to the diva of fashion. Mugdha Godse from aamchi Pune has a great debut as the cattish but good-at-heart Janet Sequiera, coming across as extremely confident and comfortable with the camera. Kangana does a beautiful cameo as the showstopper who's replaced by Priyanka as the face of their fashion brand Panache, her drug-abused life slowly catching up with her. She's perfected this role in multiple films including Gangster and Woh Lamhe, but I do hope the girl can do other stuff just as well! The guys - well, they really don't have much of a role, but Sameer Soni looks handsome and will win some hearts!

The movie does lose steam in the last half an hour, and could have edited by 15-20 mins. The music is good, with a couple of very high-energy numbers that will stay in your memory for a long time...

I cannot comment on the authenticity of the life in the fashion industry of course, my only claim to membership being that I just learnt to get my hair colored, but it does reinforce all the stereotypes I've had in my mind... does the fashion industry really have so many gays, and if so, why?

My recommendation - do watch it once!