Madhur Bhandarkar!
What do you say about him…? I am at a complete loss of words!
His flair, panache and his remarkable understanding of the medium of Cinema is awesome!
His style and technique speak in volumes in his execution of a glitzy and glamorous world of his new film FASHION…
He also gets absolutely down and dirty to showcase the pain, anguish, the relentless struggle even after aspirants reaching the top, is so practical and palatable…
Chandni Bar, Page3, Traffic Signal and now Fashion… are all hallmarks of his own struggle to give the thirsty Indian audiences the true glimpses, up close and personal, of the drama and the cat fights and the grime beneath the made up faces!
Priyanka Chopra as Meghna Mathur, a small town girl from Chandigarh, is the small premise for him to present to us the coveted world of fashion that’s taking our country to places that had seemed so far and distant at one time and yet so close now… A dream at one time is now a reality.
With determination in her eyes and stars for her guidance, Meghna saunters slowly and cautiously in the glam world of being a model. She has the blessings of meeting the right people in Rohit, a small time designer and Shomu a model coordinator who push her in the direction of modeling and making money.
The expose of a lingerie ad and the easy money for just attending a party as ‘eye candy’ leave Meghna completely flabbergasted. That’s where she meets Janet Sequeira(Mugdha Godse) and so begins her first baby step to being a model. The first ramp walk for a designer sashays Meghna into the arms of Anisha(Kitu Gidwani) of Panache, who are solely responsible for launching the FACE of the world.
The DIVA…
Kangana Ranaut as Shonali has lead the model brigade with great aplomb, supple grace and oodles of attitude. Her entire demeanor of been there done that has lend such credulity to the film that if you take her out of the film it falls completely on its face and becomes a Main Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahati Hoon! She is the fulcrum that really balances Fashion as a film and as Madhur’s foray into the truth behind the mascara!
The run in of Meghna with Shonali and then the power struggle with the designer who knocks off Meghna from being his show stopper are not only cruel but are also the stark naked truths of the industry. The innumerable girls who aspire to walk for the best designers and fail to reach the top and yet keep walking, is in itself a lesson in determination and the die hard attitude that these ladies are born with.
The world is indeed, gritty, dirty and holds the promise of the wonders of being at the top and adored and adulated by the globe.
The universe is indeed a beautiful place. It has the dark sky littered with tiny silver shining stars and then the planets that are interspersed through out the galaxy and then intermingled with this awesome sight is a blackhole … It sucks you into its vortex, pummels you to its depth and leaves you completely breathless, gasping and clasping at every little straws of help that you can get. The straws are so fragile that they break and pummel you further to the doom! Yes, its shiny on the surface and dark and gloomy beneath.
Fashion exposes this contradicting lifestyle in Madhur’s inimitable style. He has captured the essence of the world in the song Yeh Jalwa, and then the classical renditions actually tear your insides along with Meghna and Shonali.
Kangana has really impressed me the most in this film. She has the spunk and the attitude. Though you can make out her diction issues, she has been given single lines to mouth and she has been able to effectively convey her inner battles. Her constant bickering with her boyfriend and her slipping in and out of consciousness with the use of coke and wine and cigarettes is delivered so beautifully that you actually give your heart out to her… You want her to come back and be a winner… that’s the power of her role. Her ease and her swagger is a sight to behold especially when the DIVA comes as a show stopper in a very Egyptian couture and spreads her hands… there she stands in all her glory and grace and the cynosure of all eyes, yet the sadness lurks somewhere that needs to be spoken to…. She according to me is Madhur’s ace in this pack of catty models.
Priyanka as Meghna is very convincing, but lacks the bite that Kangana has. Her metamorphosis from a small town girl next door image to the super model who has attitude and spunk and her loosing her sense and falling in the relationship with Arbaaz all are done with studied skill. She has admirable supported the script. She looks like a million bucks.
Mugdha Godse is a certain dark mare that deserves applause. Practical, not so ambitious but spunky been there done that girl, Mugdha has delivered a powerful performance that will get you to your feet. Her La Perla lingerie launch walk is very lioness like, catty, suggestive and seductive. She is a veteran.
The scene stealers are nevertheless Kangana and Priyanka.
My scenes of the film;
A) Kangana’s wardrobe malfunction. Her fleeting in and out of sheer shock and then the eyes hardening to stony determination are admirable.
B) When Kangana is removed from the Panache contract, her anguish, pain and her cry for justice are remarkably well done. He r body is toned and her swagger is absolutely gorgeous. My votes for this girl to be nominated for awards this year.
C) Priyanka’s rise to stardom, her photography sessions with Harsh Chhaya are very well shot. She looks golden!
D) The face off between Arbaaz and Achala and herself is stunning!
E) Her father asking her to go back and win the world!
These scenes win my thumbs up!
Also observe how beautifully the camera flirts with the curves of these ladies. The romantic interlude between Meghna and Manav is shot so aesthetically with inter cuts between Close and midclose of the camera… Its seductive and gives you the sparks of the chemistry between the two lovers. All the confrontation scenes are shot close to mid close and so it gives you a feeling of being personal with the character and actually a sense of BEING THERE with them!
Hats off to Madhur for pulling off a stunning subject with absolute panache. His handling of script and screenplay and his actors is commendable… For once I really liked this FASHION show…
It’s the people who aspire to achieve, generally get there where they belong,
But not before the stars which shine so bright blind them in the process of going where they so long…
Dream, Desire …. Go get it girl!
