When ‘Fashion’ released, and broke all barriers of misogyny at the box office

In the year 2008, Madhur Bhandarkar, who had already given us powerful women characters through his movies ‘Chandni Bar’ and ‘Page 3’, came up with something different. After showing two strong women in two different industries, it was time for the maestro to delve into a relatively untouched field, that of fashion. The world of ramp is one filled with glitz. But what goes behind it, and is success permanent or momentary, these are some of the questions we all have had. And that is exactly what Madhur had in mind, when he brought to of the most understated power-packed performers of the time, Priyanka Chopra and Kangana Ranaut together, in a story which took the box office by storm, despite being a women-centric movie with no big male stars to boast of.

Nine years later, the magic of the movie still remains with us. ‘Fashion’ managed to bring to us both sides of the coin of success. On one hand we had Megha (Priyanka Chopra), who rose from the ashes of the pride which destroyed her career, and on the other hand, we had Shonali (Kangana Ranaut), who succumbed to the same. We had Janet (Mugdha Godse), a mix of both, neither black or white, but rather a grey who would rather compromise on one hand and have a comfortable career than risking all for becoming a top model. Success doesn’t come cheap, and ‘Fashion’ managed to express each and every nuance of the same. (Also Read: Mohabbatein! The first film Amitabh Bachchan and SRK came together)

However, while a good screenplay and powerful performances astounded one and all, what surprised everyone was the box office collection. ‘Fashion’ roared its way through the box office, despite having a niche industry as its backdrop, and being completely women-centric. The movie had clashed with the second instalment of one of the most successful comic franchise, Rohit Shetty’s ‘Golmaal Again’, and still sailed through with flying colours.

‘Fashion’ broke the barrier of misogyny in Bollywood and box office which had till then stated that you only need a certain Khan or a big-budget A-list star to rake in money, and a female-oriented movie can only go so far. It went on to collect approximately Rs 60 crore then.

Not only commercially, ‘Fashion’ stormed at every award function that year, as trophies rained down on Priyanka Chopra and Kangana Ranaut for their outstanding performances, and they even won the prestigious National Awards.

Nine years on, we thank Madhur Bhandarkar for giving us a gem, which proved that talent needs no gender, just a story that rings true, and performers who can play to the truth characters that we can relate to. Megha and Shonali are the light and dark within us, and will stay with us forever.

Kadambari Srivastava

Grammar Nazi, word weaver, dreamer, bibliophile, technophile, caffeine addict, foodie, shuttling shopaholic! Mash it in a Bollywood recipe and voila! Pushpa, you’ve got her!