One of the most stylish actors of Bollywood, Saif Ali Khan, the son of the Nawab of Pataudi Mansoor Ali Khan, made his Bollywood debut with Aashiq Awara, followed by films like Parampara and Yeh Dillagi.
Khan however shot to fame two years later with action comedy Main Khiladi Tu Anari, where he played the role of a film star, who wants to hang out with a cop to prepare for a macho role. Over the years, Saif Ali Khan mostly played romantic chocolate boy roles till his anti-hero role in Sriram Raghavan thriller Ek Hasina Thi. Khan's portrayal of the sophisticated criminal Karan Rathod won him major acclaim. Khan's another different role was in Being Cyrus, a film by Homi Adajania, which was not a commercial hit but was appreciated for its dark tone and grim plot.
However, Saif's best role till date remains that of 'Langda Tyagi' in Vishal Bhardwaj's Omkara, a film which was the desi adaptation of Shakespeare's play Othello. Khan played a role based on the evil Iago and his look and performance earned him the awards for Best Actor in a Negative Role at the Filmfare, Star Screen, Zee Cine and IIFA ceremonies; his performance was also included in the 2010 issue of the 'Top 80 Iconic Performances' by Filmfare magazine.
Khan turned producer with Illuminati Films in 2009 and his first home production was Love Aaj Kal, a film about how the idea of soulmates changes over generations. Khan was recently seen playing the role of a slick spy in Agent Vinod and the charismatic lover boy in Cocktail, which also starred Deepika Padukone and Diana Penty. Saif will be next seen playing the role of a Russian mobster turned vampire hunter in Go Goa Gone. On the personal front, Saif is gearing up to tie the knot with beau Kareena Kapoor soon.
On the occasion of his birthday, here's wishing the stylish and talented actor a prosperous professional and personal life.
Actress Diana Penty had quite a few nervous moments on the set of her recently-released film Cocktail. Considering she was making her acting debut, it was understandable. However, she was scared of her co-star Randeep Hooda.
Randeep, who played Diana's husband in Cocktail, is portrayed as a foul-mouthed and an aggressive character.
Diana was recently quoted saying that Randeep was very real while shooting those violent scenes so her reactions were very real.
Saif Ali Khan has all the reasons to break into a wide grin. His Cocktail has managed to net 55 crores in it's first week, hence turning out to be his biggest week ever, either in a solo or multi starrer. After a 36 crores weekend, the film held on well in the weekdays as well and though there was a slight decline in collections from Tuesday onwards, it wasn't scary enough to lead to any alarms. In fact the collections were pretty much as per industry norm of 50%-60% fall in collections over the weekdays, hence resulting in the kind of total that now marks Cocktail as a definite hit at the least.
It's eventual fate depends upon the second weekend though. The Dark Knight Rises is the major release of the weekend and since that too is expected to create havoc at the box office on it's first couple of days at the least, Cocktail should ideally come back on track from Sunday onwards. Hollywood euphoria is expected to settle down by then and family audience should be favouring the desi daaru of Saif Ali Khan-Deepika Padukone-Diana Penty all over again.
All of this means that while 75 crores is most definitely achievable from here, it would be interesting to see if the film crosses the 80 crores mark. There is competition in store week after week (Kya Super Kool Hain Hum and Jism 2) which means Cocktail would have to hold on ground quite firmly. However, given the fact that Saif didn't quite have a happy outing with Agent Vinod just a few weeks back, one can be rest assured that he would happy with anything between 75-80 crores for Cocktail.
Actress Deepika Padukone is as pleased as the proverbial punch lately. The dimpled dame, who was seen playing the glamorous Veronica in recently released Cocktail, gushed about the response that the movie has received and claimed that she herself did not get a ticket for the show when she wanted to go with her friends!
It seems that Dippy, as she is popularly known, had made plans to watch the Homi Adajania flick with her own bunch of friends but when they went to a movie-hall, they discovered that it was housefull and they had to come back empty-handed. Though this might have made her pals groan in disappointment, the pretty Padukone sure seems glad about it…
Cocktail, which also starred Saif Ali Khan and Diana Penty, revolved around the themes of love and friendship between three people.
Saif Ali Khan has all the reasons to break into a wide grin. His Cocktail has managed to net 55 crores in it's first week, hence turning out to be his biggest week ever, either in a solo or multi starrer. After a 36 crores weekend, the film held on well in the weekdays as well and though there was a slight decline in collections from Tuesday onwards, it wasn't scary enough to lead to any alarms. In fact the collections were pretty much as per industry norm of 50%-60% fall in collections over the weekdays, hence resulting in the kind of total that now marks Cocktail as a definite hit at the least.
It's eventual fate depends upon the second weekend though. The Dark Knight Rises is the major release of the weekend and since that too is expected to create havoc at the box office on it's first couple of days at the least, Cocktail should ideally come back on track from Sunday onwards. Hollywood euphoria is expected to settle down by then and family audience should be favouring the desi daaru of Saif Ali Khan-Deepika Padukone-Diana Penty all over again.
All of this means that while 75 crores is most definitely achievable from here, it would be interesting to see if the film crosses the 80 crores mark. There is competition in store week after week (Kya Super Kool Hain Hum and Jism 2) which means Cocktail would have to hold on ground quite firmly. However, given the fact that Saif didn't quite have a happy outing with Agent Vinod just a few weeks back, one can be rest assured that he would happy with anything between 75-80 crores for Cocktail.
Cocktail - meaning, a drink made from various alcoholic drinks and when done perfectly really tastes great. Cocktails have evolved from experiments, few of them were successful and few not so successful. Seems this is what Pritam wanted to do this time and he has not only succeeded but made his mark on it. Truly, this cocktail should be named - Pritam's cocktail.
There is a long unusual list of 11 songs in the album; each one is unique in its own, mixed with a perfect blend of music, melody and instruments in background. All the songs are done very neatly - from rock to Sufi, from bandhu to sakha, from good voice to excellent music, from soft number to a rock number, from young to old, there is something for all.
Track one, Tum Hi Ho Bandhu is already a massive hit. This is a masterpiece done by Pritam. Just realize this one – it is Sufi song done by Kavita Seth accompanied by modern instruments and good fast music, Never ever heard before. This one is melodious, soft but still a peppy number. Not to forget lyrics too add on magic Tum Hi Ho Bandhu, as these words were a prayer sung in morning school assemblies.
The second song of the album, Daaru Desi has a different strength to its credit; the lyrics are simple and easy to remember. Each of us can easily hum this one and this is actually what makes it unique.
Next track Second Hand Jawani is a well done item number by Neha Kakkar which is fulfilling the purpose of a number that can attract masses and people can correlate this item number with the movie.
An experiment, Yaariyaan is a true rock number and another dimension of what Pritam has created. For people who are in love with rock music, this is Pritam's gift and what makes it more recognizable are some beautiful voals by Mohan Kanan. Though the length of the song is over 6 minutes it never bogs you down.
Followed by this is the track Lutna, a Sufi song, which is another experiment in the forte of Pritam da. A mix of modern instruments and amazing play of keyboard, this Sufi number is work of a genius.
Next in the album is Tera Naam Japdi Phiran , which is just an ordinary Punjabi number mixed with English punch lines that are inspired by the Barbie series.
The experiment moves to the next track of Yaarian (reprise). Starting with the beautiful play of keyboard, it is accompanied by beautiful, melodious and soft voice of Sunidhi Chauhan which mixes high notes well. Usually it is found that two versions of the same song are not so different in an album, but this is not the case here. To say if one is sun and another is moon; these two versions are very different and done beautifully which shows that music director has been willing to takes up the challenge to do the same number in different ways and pretty much succeeded.
Jugni, is another gift for Sufi and rock lovers. It is Punjabi Sufi track with an element of rock in it and what makes it different from the league is the experiment done with drums. The next two tracks though, second versions each of Tera Naam Japdi Phiran and Lutna, are not much different from their original tracks and look just a repeat.
Last but not the least is Main Sharabi, a track that is not so impressive, but reminds of Gurdas Maan numbers. The song can do well in a cocktail party and enjoyed after couple of drinks.
One rarely sees so many experiments being successfully done at one go and this challenge is lived up by Pritam. Overall it is an amazing album with a variety of rich music which has something for all.
Music lovers would be delighted to hear this kind of album after a long, long time and going to live it for some more time to come.
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.
Cocktail has ended up throwing a pleasant surprise for all involved. The film has fared beyond expectations (at least from opening perspective), and how! Even though it was always on the cards that the film would take a good start in the range of 60%-70% (as predicted in this column last week), the fact that it only showed escalation on Friday evening itself and grew further over rest of the weekend shows that the film was patronised by it's target audience.
With the weekend touching 36 crores mark, the film has now officially fetched Saif Ali Khan his biggest start ever. While it was always on the cards that the Agent Vinod opening of 30 crores would be definitely surpassed, the ease with which that happened (and that too with lesser screen count) has surprised many out there. There is a definite acceptance factor that has come in handy and though there are mixed opinions as well about certain portions of the film and certain critics have found the narrative a tad flawed, the feedback from audience has been better while ranging between above average to very good.
All of this means that drops over the weekdays won't be more than industry standard of 50% and the first week should be quite healthy (around 55 crores). Since there is no competition in week to come and multiplexes would continue to give good space to Cocktail, the film is now all set to be Saif's biggest grosser ever, hence comfortably crossing Love Aaj Kal total of 67 crores. In the process it would also wipe off a bad box office streak that Saif had suffered with Kurbaan, Aarakshan and Agent Vinod.
Though after its run during the first couple days it had seemed that Bol Bachchan may just about manage to hang on, the unpredictable happened as the film actually managed to sustain quite well and not just showed good escalation over Sunday but also sustained the momentum during the weekdays. There was ambiguity around its eventual collections since various trade sources had different views around the ultimate moolah that came in. However with the producers revealing day by day collections (and hence making themselves accountable for what they declared), the picture was clearer.
While trade numbers have ranged between 60-63 crore opening week, the producers have declared ~67 crores and one has to go by that. Such numbers have now also given a good platform for the film to strengthen its march towards the 100 crore mark, something that looked impossible after the first couple of days. Is the Ajay Devgn starrer still there to guarantee itself a breezy run for being yet another entry into the century club? Not really because it is the weekdays from this point on that would decide its eventual fate. After all, Cocktail is all set to dominate in the multiplexes in this weekend itself.
Whether the two films would now compete with each other for supremacy or live amicably with each other is yet to be seen. However one thing is for sure that in single screens at the least, it would be Bol Bachchan that would bol better. Nevertheless, even if the film doesn't touch the 100 crore mark, one thing is for sure that going by the producer's total, the Rohit Shetty film is now all set to cross 90 crores at the least. That would still be very good for all involved, especially for Abhishek Bachchan who would now be enjoying collections that would be much more than sum total of his last 5-6 films!
As for Asin, she has now continued her success run, what with the film gearing up for a superhit tag. The film's success has shown yet again that audience want to have some good fun in theatres and though one still feels that with some more humour, the film could have matched the scale of Golmaal series or All The Best, the very fact that it has still done so well further consolidates the brand building and loyal following that Ajay-Rohit films are enjoying today.
Cocktail is the only Hindi film to release this Friday and it should manage a good opening for itself. There are quite a few things going in its favour. First and foremost the young, modern and contemporary look and feel has managed to catch one's attention. Secondly, the music has picked on well as well. Thirdly, there hasn't been any negativity around the film with all around positive vibes been generated. Fourthly, Saif Ali Khan looks at ease with the genre that has helped him gain maximum commercial success over the years. Last but not the least, his pairing with Deepika Padukone is reminding of Love Aaj Kal days.
With such factors going in its favour, the film should open better than Agent Vinod that had accumulated around 30 crores in it's opening weekend. Moreover, the film finds itself in a space where it has in it to grow further with word of mouth and enjoy sustained collections than merely rely upon the first weekend collections. With a 60%-70% start expected, especially in multiplexes which are its target audience, Cocktail should be a safe project for Saif. However in single screens the film may open much lesser since the very title is so urban centric while the promotion so far hasn't tried to convey anything else.
The film is quite important for Saif since his last commercial success was Love Aaj Kal and post that there have been commercial disappointments like Kurbaan, Aarakshan and Agent Vinod. Even Deepika Padukone would want a much bigger success in her kitty than a Desi Boyz. Moreover since she enjoys an author backed part here, she has all the more expectations for it to do good.
Overall the film is finding a best possible release since it arrives solo, has the cream of multiplexes and screens available for itself and doesn't have any competition in week to follow. If it manages to sustain itself, it has all in it to grow just the way Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara when released around the same time last year.
Rivalry between Bollywood heroines is not really a new thing. However, it is very rare to come across two actresses being friends with each other. Buzz is that recently Anushka Sharma sent a congratulatory message to Deepika Padukone for her performance in the recently released Cocktail.
Sources claim that Deepika was pleasantly surprised to receive such an enduring message from Anushka.
Considering both, made their debuts opposite Shah Rukh Khan and are at the same juncture in their respective careers, it is certainly heartening to see such camaraderie.
Though after its run during the first couple days it had seemed that Bol Bachchan may just about manage to hang on, the unpredictable happened as the film actually managed to sustain quite well and not just showed good escalation over Sunday but also sustained the momentum during the weekdays. There was ambiguity around its eventual collections since various trade sources had different views around the ultimate moolah that came in. However with the producers revealing day by day collections (and hence making themselves accountable for what they declared), the picture was clearer.
While trade numbers have ranged between 60-63 crore opening week, the producers have declared ~67 crores and one has to go by that. Such numbers have now also given a good platform for the film to strengthen its march towards the 100 crore mark, something that looked impossible after the first couple of days. Is the Ajay Devgn starrer still there to guarantee itself a breezy run for being yet another entry into the century club? Not really because it is the weekdays from this point on that would decide its eventual fate. After all, Cocktail is all set to dominate in the multiplexes in this weekend itself.
Whether the two films would now compete with each other for supremacy or live amicably with each other is yet to be seen. However one thing is for sure that in single screens at the least, it would be Bol Bachchan that would bol better. Nevertheless, even if the film doesn't touch the 100 crore mark, one thing is for sure that going by the producer's total, the Rohit Shetty film is now all set to cross 90 crores at the least. That would still be very good for all involved, especially for Abhishek Bachchan who would now be enjoying collections that would be much more than sum total of his last 5-6 films!
As for Asin, she has now continued her success run, what with the film gearing up for a superhit tag. The film's success has shown yet again that audience want to have some good fun in theatres and though one still feels that with some more humour, the film could have matched the scale of Golmaal series or All The Best, the very fact that it has still done so well further consolidates the brand building and loyal following that Ajay-Rohit films are enjoying today.
Actor Saif Ali Khan might have turned producer in 2009 with Illuminati Films and co-produced many films like Love Aaj Kal, Agent Vinod and Cocktail, but the actor is the first to admit that actors don't make the perfect producers as they tend to 'get carried away'.
In a recent interview, when talking about Cocktail, which releases today, Saif agreed that actors don't make great producers because actors are in danger of becoming self-indulgent. He admitted that when actors are given a lot of money to make the kind of films they want, they tend to get carried away and this is where the actual producer has to step in as he is the voice of reason and tends to make the movie as commercial as possible as he knows the best decisions to take as far as actors and directors are concerned.
Saif Ali Khan, who is seen playing a Casanova type character in Cocktail, will be seen playing a Russian mobster in his next production Go Goa Gone.
Cocktail is the only Hindi film to release this Friday and it should manage a good opening for itself. There are quite a few things going in its favour. First and foremost the young, modern and contemporary look and feel has managed to catch one's attention. Secondly, the music has picked on well as well. Thirdly, there hasn't been any negativity around the film with all around positive vibes been generated. Fourthly, Saif Ali Khan looks at ease with the genre that has helped him gain maximum commercial success over the years. Last but not the least, his pairing with Deepika Padukone is reminding of Love Aaj Kal days.
With such factors going in its favour, the film should open better than Agent Vinod that had accumulated around 30 crores in it's opening weekend. Moreover, the film finds itself in a space where it has in it to grow further with word of mouth and enjoy sustained collections than merely rely upon the first weekend collections. With a 60%-70% start expected, especially in multiplexes which are its target audience, Cocktail should be a safe project for Saif. However in single screens the film may open much lesser since the very title is so urban centric while the promotion so far hasn't tried to convey anything else.
The film is quite important for Saif since his last commercial success was Love Aaj Kal and post that there have been commercial disappointments like Kurbaan, Aarakshan and Agent Vinod. Even Deepika Padukone would want a much bigger success in her kitty than a Desi Boyz. Moreover since she enjoys an author backed part here, she has all the more expectations for it to do good.
Overall the film is finding a best possible release since it arrives solo, has the cream of multiplexes and screens available for itself and doesn't have any competition in week to follow. If it manages to sustain itself, it has all in it to grow just the way Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara when released around the same time last year.
