Whether or not Fashion is realistic, only a person from inside the fashion industry can tell. It certifies what we can make out from the tabloids. The beauty is that it doesn’t even make an attempt to shock. It certainly is a well-told story about the rise and fall of an ambitious woman. And what she learns on the way. The rise might seem fairy-tale like but it is only a set-up for the meat of the story that comes in the last 45 minutes. These 45 minutes take the drama to a high point. Unfortunately these 45 minutes come a little too late. Yes, the post-interval pace and run-time too close to 3 hours are big-time dampeners.
So, welcome to the fashion world where women dazzle and men are either gay or sleazeballs or at times both. But none of this is used to sensationalize. It’s all stated in a very matter-of-fact, part-of-life manner. In fact, the page-3, prop-dolls are shown as human beings - intelligent, conscious, ambitious, and most important of all, gray human beings. They celebrate success and are supportive in failure. They too have friends who can be called upon in the middle of the night in dire times.
Fashionis sprinkled with interesting, thoughtfully written characters with good dialogues. Sure, the weirder stereotypes are chosen. But some of them are so atypical of the actors performing them, that they stand out. To start with there’s Meghana (Priyanka Chopra), the aspiring supermodel going through a slow and steady moral breakdown. We’ve seen Priyanka in quite some high profile movies recently, but this is the first one to actually use her talent and warm facial features.
Anisha (Kitu Gidwani) runs a top-line modeling agency that has the knack of taking supermodels through their career cycle, from attitude to arrogance. Kitu plays the perfect shade of gray as the cold yet knowing, beautiful godmother of all successful models. Harsh Chayya as the arrogant designer, Vinay, who has a strong, almost comical lisp, shows he can actually act if made to. Same goes for Ashwin Mushran, who plays a struggling designer, Rohit and Meghana’s compassionate guide in the big bad world of fashion.
The only actor who doesn’t step out of her comfort zone is Kangna Ranaut, who plays the currently reigning supermodel, Shonali, to perfection. The character is tailor-made for Kangna. She by now has mastered the confused, suicidal woman. So, I still haven’t figured out whether her slurred mispronunciations are because of the doped-out characters she plays or it’s just her.
People wanting to watch the movie for the beautifully stylized women won’t be disappointed. The costumes are as drop-dead gorgeous as the women wearing them - both in and out of the fashion shows. Especially noticeable are the colors chosen for Priyanka to match her mood. The make-up from when the women are at home, to the fashion shows, to when they are in despair is absolutely stunning.
You are in for a treat if you want some good-looking people perform well. Don’t forget that extra ounce of patience to pull you through a few parts of the movie.
- Meetu, a part of the audience
