Filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar and the lead actor of his latest release Fashion, Priyanka Chopra have reason to smile. The film is doing well despite some critics writing it off. CNN-IBN spoke to the filmmaker and the protagonist about what went into the making of the film and what the film is really about.

CNN-IBN: What kind of research went into the making of the film Fashion ? Was it largely based on media reports of fashion faux pax? 

Madhur Bhandarkar: There is a lot of speculation about this film being based on the events in the lives of models Gitanjali Nagpal, Carol Gracias or Shivani Kapur or even Kate Moss. It is nothing like that. I think the film is more fiction with some realism added to it. I interacted with a lot of models, a lot of designers and people connected with the fashion industry. Not only that, there were a lot of people from the fashion industry who are associated with this film, like we have Rita Goody, Mahendra Kumar and Ahmed, Anamika Khanna, Lubna Adams and Achala Sachdev who are very much an essential part of the fashion industry. And real models like Jassi Randhawa, Aachal Kumar and Noyonika Chatterjee, all these girls are a part of the fashion industry too. So I do not subscribe to this idea that this was to create any controversy.

CNN-IBN: Priyanka Chopra, you play the lead character in this film. You have been a model yourself. Do you think that this is a real glimpse into the fashion industry as we see it in the film Fashion?

Priyanka Chopra: Well, first of all I do not think we were making a documentary or something like that on the fashion industry. This film Fashion is an entirely fictional film. Yes, there may have been incidents that may have inspired our writers to accommodate as events into the films, or what happens to our characters. But it is primarily a fictional film when it comes my character or any other character in the film. It is not a bio-pic, nor is it a biography nor is it a docudrama. So I do not want to suggest to anyone who wants to get into the fashion or the design industry that this is what the industry is about. It is the struggle and the journey of this one girl called Meghna and her personal problems that lead to her downfall. The fashion industry gives her the success she is looking for but the reason of her downfall is her own personal problems and the fact that she could not deal with her own pressures. 

CNN-IBN: What is the reaction that you are getting from inside the fashion industry? I am sure that there are a lot of people who are designers, stylists etc and with whom you may have worked before?

Priyanka Chopra: Oh, we have had great reactions. We are very grateful to the fashion industry because they have supported us a lot through out this film, before and during the making of this film. This film is primarily a fictional film and in the fashion industry who have seen the film, have loved it. There have been so many model friends of mine who are a part of the film and who haven't actually gone there looking for associations with certain characters they may know. They have gone there and just watched it like any other film. I am sure Madhur (Bhandarkar) would agree with this.

Madhur Bhandarkar: Definitely! In fact we held a separate show for the models. They were absolutely stunned to see the way it was shot, the way it was shown. They all appreciated it. Carol Gracias herself saw the film.

CNN-IBN: So what you are saying is that you were inspired by the real life incidents that happened and were extensively reported by the media.

Madhur Bhandarkar: All my films are based a little on media reports and real life incidents woven together with fiction. If you look at Corporate or Page 3 or Traffic Signal, it is fiction with reality. But as a film maker I have the right to mould it the way I wanted to, to script it the way I wanted to; to even give a different draft to the character. That does not mean that we are trying to get inspiration completely from outside.

CNN-IBN: Priyanka, as you know Madhur is known to make films which show the other side of industries, like in Corporate he did so with the corporate world, in Page 3 he did it with journalism. So, were you worried at any level of offending people in the industry that you have worked so closely with?

Priyanka Chopra: Yes, of course. When Madhur first discussed the film with me at the Goa film festival, I was really excited. We have been wanting to work with each other for a really long time. The first thing I asked him before the film was that if I have to be a part of this film, I have to know if this is a positive film. He was very clear about what he wanted to project in this film. There is actually a very positive message at the end of this film. That is why I take an immense amount of pride in the fact that this is not a film about a grim start and a morose end. It is a film about overcoming your fears and issues, about becoming a stronger person and emerging victorious in the same field that you may have let go of earlier because of your own issues. I am really proud that people come out after seeing the film and say that it is really about how you deal with your own individual pressures, which is what showbiz is about.

Madhur Bhandarkar: A very positive message!

CNN-IBN: It is Diwali week and the film is doing well. But do you think that there was a strategy in placing those instances from media reports that the audience is finding the connection with, so that the film gets publicity?

Madhur Bhandarkar: In my many years of working with the film industry, one thing that I can say for sure is that no amount of controversy can help a film succeed until and unless there is substance and strong content in the film. The response we have received from audiences across the country is astonishing. People have given standing ovation to the film. I am not talking only about the fashion or the glamour industry. I am talking about the layman. They get emotionally connected with the film and emotions have no boundaries. People connect with the characters played by Priyanka Chopra, Kangana Ranaut and Mugdha Godse, every character in the film.

CNN-IBN: Priyanka, many actresses in Madhur's films have won awards in the past. Your character is already being appreciated by critics. What are your expectations?

Priyanka Chopra: I try not to have many expectations because you feel sad when they are not realised. I am just grateful with the kind of support that the critics have given. I was very nervous when I took up this film. A lot of people told me that it is a very bold move, are you sure you as a commercial heroine want to do this! But I have always thought that Madhur is a commercial film maker. He makes power packed films but his films have always done well. They have been a great blend of commercial success and content, which is something very few people have. I have been nervous. You can ask him. I used to be really stressed before the release of the film, you can ask him. People always say that heroine oriented films do not do well and you need a hero in the film. But I think that the hero of this film is the script and Madhur, himself more than anything else. I am grateful that a heroine oriented film has done so well in its initial collections itself. 
sours : CNN-IBN
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