The choice was tough to choose between Golmaal Returns and Fashion. I would choose a comedy anytime over serious film, but three hot models on the posters is hard to resist. As I entered Ramakrishna Glitterati for the evening 6 pm show, although HOUSE-FULL, the atmosphere inside was calm and no buzz when the censor certificate was displayed. First signs that the film is dull. ‘All that glitters is not gold’ is what director Madhur Bhandarkar wants to show in Fashion, but he tries to put his point across without a story or entertainment and the model falls flat on the ramp.
Meghna Mathur
(Priyanka Chopra) is a girl from Chandigarh who dreams of becoming a super-model. Against her parents wishes she comes to Mumbai to make it big. Aimlessly, but quite luckily she meets the right peope at the right place and quickly makes it to the top. Around her she sees big models rise and fall, but she is undettered and becomes arrogant as she begis to click. As the brand ambassodor of the brand Panache, she becomes the girlfriend of fashion industry’s tycoon Mr. Sarin (Arbaz Khan). She even becomes pregnant, aborts, leaks the info to Sarin’s wife, drinks and drives, gets arrested, smokes, gets fired from her contract, becomes ungratefull to those who helped her, takes to drugs, sleeps with an unkown African, and then returns back to home sweet home where she takes rest for one year. Then, her dad asks her to go fulfill what she couldn’t and she goes back and does it. But the second time, she is sensitive about her success. This is what happens in the really long and boring 2 hours and 40 minutes of the film. Add to this, plenty of gay comedy (every second man shown in the film is gay, ‘not that there is anything wrong with that’), drug use, drinks, ciggarates, and all Page-3 type characters.
The problem with the film is that there is no story and nothing entertaining is going
on. Okay, so Madhur Bhandarkar is the master director who portrays reality (there is also a silly appearance of Madhur and a mention about the research he is doing for his film Fashion by attending all hi-fi parties), but we all know that the movie or fashion industry is cruel and harsh–whats new about it? Showing reality is fine, but it has to be done in the backdrop of a good story. Priyanka Chopra is in every frame of the film and must have wished that this would be her ticket to stardom, but the script disappoints her. Her acting is the same, nothing special this time around too. She already looks like model prior to becoming one so I wonder where is the transformation. She looks great at times, but most of the times like most models she too looks like a patient. Kangna Ranaut as Shonali, the super-model who just got reduced to dust before Meghna, is absolutely irritating and disgusting repeating her high-strung-i-am-always-a-drug-addict-and-alcoholic-and-loser-in-life performance yet again. Mugdha Godse as Janet is fine. The Chak De girl, the one from Haryana, in a brief role is artificial. Arbaaz Khan does not deliver. The entire film is like watching one fashion show after another and thats it. The music disappoints with only one tune playing in the background all the time.
The only entertaining part of the film were the comments audience were hurling at the film out of sheer boredom. Don’t even think of taking your (teen) kids for this film; there is nothing educative or informative the film offers other than telling that your life is bound to be like a piece-of-sh** if you enter the fashion world. It is true, all that glitters is not gold and that aptly applies to Fashion. I am all for realistic cinema, but its gotta entertain when it is made on a canvas meant for entertainment.
Mr. Inkenti’s Movienomics Verdict: Two Thumbs Down.
ps–Mrs. Inkenti gives the film a 3.5/5 as she feels that the reality of the struggles of a model were well shown.
Mr. Inkenti's Weblog 
venus said
The movie is doing great as per the reviews so an awesome flick that one cannot afford to miss
meet said
the film is showing poor run in delhi cos its getting adverse mouth publicity..bhandarkar cant match hollywood standards even when the budgets arent high…over the top performances screaming to hammer your dialogues is no difficult for anyone…priyankas motions are the same in any film she will have tough time asking her price this year this film will do to her what zindaggi rocks did to sushmita sen ..my rating pathetic1/5
Preet said
May be this movie is not meant for ur generation!!
I give this movie three thumbs up!!!
Asif said
Sadly, the person who wrote this review, and ofcourse her counterparts like meet have no brains to engage when they pen or type down something about a movie, my advise to u mr or mrs. wotever the hell u are inkenti, u need to be pushed back into time, billions of years behind. Where there was no cinema, no civilization, no humans. U deserve to live amongst dinosaurs, the kind that would interest u. Also i would strongly recommend u to meet a psychiatrist, someone good, and not as cheap as your dirty self, I know 99.99% u will not be approving this post, but as long as i get the message across to ur ears and eyes i would consider the purpose of this message as served. This movie reflects exactly what happens in the Fashion industry, I know as i am a model myself, the struggle and strive that we go through goes unnoticed, and mr. bhandarkar has made a perfect move in uncovering the darker side of the fashion industry, u on the other hand are a lame and immature audience who wouldnt understand the depth behind this flick. I am sad that people like u still exist, u should be wiped off the face of this earth with no rememberances of any sort whatsoever. The music is absolutely terrific, which again according to your review is boring. I bet u are one of those kind who classify Death Metal as a genre of music which i would classify as music for the deaf. Learn how to appreciate hard work specially when it reflects reality the way it is. Dont hate, be mature enough to give a standing ovation to the whole cast and crew of Fashion because they sure as hell deserve it. Well done Mr. Bhandarkar, just to let you know, most of the people in the fashion industry are pleased with your work, and we hope u make more meaningful movies like this, dont let immature freaks like the one who opened this Blog get your morale down.
Thanks & Best Regards,
Asif
Indro said
One of those movies which is helping Bollywood to come out of sill trash movies. Serious work and stirs a lot of thinking. But undue exposure given to the gay angle (nothing wrong in being gay) but why giving so much undue importance to some thing which is absolutely one’s personal preference
Katia said
i disagree with this review. I applaud mr. bhandakar for attempting to add a sense of reality into bollywood films. i am sick and tired of brainless bollywood flicks with histrionic reenactments of the same love scenes. Right on Asif. you are soo right. except for one thing… death metal is sweet.
Usman khan said
What ever people say Abt fashion .But her look in fashion is preety hoooooooooooooooooooooot …And i like her soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much
aayshi said
hey i found movie rockz.itz a confidence boosting film .i jst find it 2 gud!!!!
satya said
I had great hopes on Bhandarkar having watched his page 3 which i felt gave slices of lives of the page 3 world, fashion disappoints. the so called story revolves around just the 3 or 4 characters and of course the men who are all gay! portraying the real struggling lives is all fine but the movie lacks depth, you
know you are watching a movie. If fashion had tried to portray the lives of various models their sufferings their plight or their achievements it would have made better sense. Not everybody is a loser and not everyone comes from some chandigarh. The movie has shown only the dark side of the fashion industry, the movie the glamour power many times are the trade off for the struggle. Ruthless, guileless it could be but fashion lacks that essence which is expected out of a reality cinema.