Cocktail Review - In Brief
Three friends explore the meaning of love, heart-break and friendship.
Cocktail Review - Verdict
Homi Adajania's film has immense visual appeal but a predictable story-line.
Cocktail Review - Story Plot
Gautam Kapoor (Saif Ali Khan) is the incorrigible Casanova who strikes a friendship with self-confessed 'rich bitch' Veronica (Deepika Padukone) and Meera (Diana Penty), a traditional Indian woman, who has been duped by her husband Kunal (Randeep Hooda). Though Gautam and Veronica have a 'friends with benefits' relationship, the former is forced to lie to his mother Kavita (Dimple Kapadia) that he is dating Meera (as Meera is more traditional and Kavita approves of her).
As Gautam and Meera are forced to spend time together to put up an appearance, they both feel drawn to each other, which creates complications when the hitherto wild child Veronica also falls for Gautam and dreams of a future with him. How the three manage to deal with these issues forms the rest of the story…
Cocktail Review - Performances
At the very outset, it should be mentioned that viewers who have grown up reading Archie comics might get a jolt of deja vu when they watch this flick. Gautam is Archie whereas Veronica and Meera play Veronica and Betty respectively. Saif's Gautam is sure to remind you of the characters he has played in films like Dil Chahta Hai and Love Aaj Kal and there is nothing that he really brings to the table as such. Diana Penty might have a fresh face but she really needs to brush up on her acting skills. However, it is Deepika Padukone as Veronica who makes quite an impact. Padukone, who mostly has a 'girl next door' image, has transformed herself into a hot and glamorous avatar for Cocktail, which is sure to set temperatures soaring in the movie-hall. Apart from the aforementioned trio, we have Boman Irani as Gautam's uncle and needless to say, the veteran Irani is flawless as ever. Dimple Kapadia plays the stereotypical loud Punjabi mother, but is quite endearing in her own way. Watch out for the scenes involving interactions between Saif, Boman and Dimple…a few chuckles are guaranteed!
Cocktail Review - Direction
Like mentioned earlier, the film is a grown-up version of the Archie comic series. Though Adajania has come up with a movie that is visually appealing and colourful, the plot unfortunately is as predictable as can be. Moreover, the process of the characters falling in love with each other is not quite convincing. Why does Gautam, who considers Meera more as a platonic friend (despite the harmless flirting), suddenly fall for her is something that is not really explained. Moreover, Veronica, who is quite happy with her wild party girl image and her 'no strings attached' relationship with Gautam, too falls heels over head in love with him overnight and decides to turn into the traditional Indian girl to win his heart. The plot about an hero, who might sleep with a different girl everyday but still fall in love with a typical bhartiya nari types seems a tad preachy, not to mention predictable and stereotypical. The first half of the film passes by quite breezily though the same cannot be said for the second half.
Cocktail Review - Technical
The story might be predictable and without any real surprises, but Adajania and his team get full marks as far as visual appeal goes. The cinematography, the styling and the way the songs have been shot are quite easy on the eyes. The film does have a fresh and colourful look and the music too is quite decent, specially the tumhi ho bandhu number, which will make you tap your feet and hum along…
Cocktail Review - Final Word
Do watch Cocktail for the fresh and yuppie look it has as well as Deepika Padukone's sizzling avatar, though expecting too much as far as the plot is concerned, might lead to disappointment.
