12 years ago, Meghna Mathur Priyanka Chopra had set out to fulfil her dream of being a supermodel, while Shonali Gujral ( Kangana Ranaut graced the ramp with her impeccable walk giving us goosebumps. Both being a part of a movie like Fashion allowed us to enter into their lives as they embraced their journey. While the film went on to win several accolades, it was craft of storytelling which struck a chord among the audience. The film also starred Magdha Godse Arjan Bajwa Samir Soni Arbaaz Khan, and Harsh Chhaya in pivotal roles.
It’s an undeniable fact that every time Madhur Bhandarkar’s name glistens on the silver screen, there is assurance while a lot of emotions take birth inside the cinema lovers. Films which mirror the reality of the glamour world; Stories focusing on the lives of models, actresses, journalists allowing one to resonate with them. Be it ‘Mahi Arora’ in ‘Heroine’, or ‘Meghna Mathur’ and ‘Shonali Gujral’ in ‘Fashion’ to ‘Madhvi Sharma’ from ‘Page 3’, these characters aren’t devoid of depth.
As ‘Fashion’ clocks 12 years today, Madhur Bhandarkar in an exclusive chat with ETimes, opened up about the conceptualisation behind making the film, and how it was working with Priyanka and Kangana. He also opened up about his struggles in the film industry, and how a film like ‘Fashion’ stays relevant in the society till today.
Well, I’ve always had an inclination towards making films on different subjects involving different ideas. Before creating ‘Fashion’ I made films like ‘Page 3’ and ‘Traffic Signal’ which are weaved from the social strata. So for me, I always had this inquisitiveness in knowing what goes behind a ramp walk, what kind of people come there, what has been their story, etc. I wanted to show about the ups and downs about a model’s life, and how they absorb themselves in that zone. Luckily at that time, I had been attending a lot of fashion shows and as I said earlier I had an ardent desire to know what happens inside this world.
You see girls walking without any expression while they grace the ramp. That made me curious. I eventually met a lot of people in this industry, people who choreographed the fashion shows, some of them told me ‘we always ask the models to give away a poker expression’. People even stated, ‘Models are like hangers; we just want them to walk. Because the highlight of the fashion show is about carrying the intricate designer outfits with perfection, without paying much attention to their expressions of consciousness. You know that word ‘hanger’ stuck to me very much. This is when I thought, I have to make a movie in this world.
I started visiting the backstage, meeting and interacting with various models and people. Initially, people were very apprehensive about meeting me, after I had made ‘Corporate’ (laughs). I used to hear ‘ Madhur ne corporate world ka band baja diya’. I think it’s a beautiful merger of two characters. Shonali, who’s already a supermodel and how she created her fate and mark, and then you see Meghna coming from a small town and how she becomes the next sensational model like her. Both the characters are very unapologetic and demeaning at the same time. These characters completely mesmerised with the meaning they had about themselves in the glamour world. There’s a dialogue in the movie by Meghna ‘ Success ki seedi chadte hue jin logo se mulaqat hoti hai … wohi log phir se seedi utarte huye bhi milte hai’. I think that holds a lot of relevance.
The real-life is even more dark but as a filmmaker, you have to pick the positives of the journey. Priyanka Chopra’s journey indeed spoke about positivity, like how she didn’t give up. She gets her redemption also when she brings Kangana home. It’s a good thing that people take their references because that’s what glamour makes you do at times. You have to be brave like them and always aspire to have your own stand. It makes me very happy that even today, films like ‘Page 3’, ‘Fashion’ and ‘Heroine’ relate and resonate a lot with people.
It took around 6-7 months to scrape it out. A lot of people told me to keep the title something else, but I was very reluctant because I feel people should exactly know what I was talking about. I was very happy to have Priyanka and Kangana on board. Even though Kangana had a short screen time, she created a significant impact. Kangana’s entry during the ramp walk was so huge on the sets, we got goosebumps there itself.Absolutely yes. I was very happy that Priyanka wanted to do a women-centric cinema, with a completely different word, titled ‘Fashion’. I told Kangana, ‘don’t go by the length of the role, go by the strength of the role’. She always wanted to work with me. She was absolutely flawless. The way she absorbed the character and walked the ramp between action and cut, she is phenomenal, she goes to another level for her performance. She made a huge impact on the audience, even today people talk about her rampwalk. For me when I work in a film, I need to have a family. Both the girls complimented each other very well.
I am very zealous in crafting my films. I am a fighter. I always fight it back. It’s something inside me. People like reading non-fiction books, and take interest in documentary films. I don’t know why people get upset when you make a film that way. All the films that I have made, from ‘Chandni Bar’ to ‘Indu Sarkar’, have been of huge controversies. It’s a good risk that I am willing to take. It has also given me loyal audience and fans.
You know my movies have always been a mix of something. I always have this kind of divided reviews; always 60:40. A lot of people say that Madhur usually picks up and focuses on an ordinary person and shows their world in his way of storytelling. I like to take people from the middle class and put them into the world with which they are not acquainted. I want the common man in the country to connect and resonate with my films. Most of them have this prejudiced mindset that ‘Madhur Bhandarkar is now going to expose the so-and-so fashion world!’.
Coming to ‘Fashion’, it definitely had a mixed reaction. There were so many filmmakers who called me up saying, ‘ Madhur itne fashion shows dekhliye; lekin kabhi Socha bhi nahi Aisa bhi ek world hain karke.’ I am happy that, even today ‘Fashion’ holds a lot of ground within the common man and at the same time, there’s a lesson also.
Has the scenario in the fashion industry changed after ‘Fashion’ ?
A lot of things have changed actually. The fashion industry got the ‘showstopper’ phenomena very high. I remember when this film was running, a lot of people told me, that the common man will not understand what exactly a showstopper is. They said I had made a very big deal out of a showstopper.
But you know after ‘Fashion’, everybody asks for the showstopper. People got educated to it. Even in small shows, people have started asking ‘ showstopper kaun hain’. I also screened a special show for top models and people from the fashion industry, people were almost in tears and were completely overwhelmed by the concept, while the ‘showstopper’ culture became huge.( TOI )
