Come on Imtiaz, we have seen those dazzling foreign locale, super cool dress code and superior Indian values meet decadent western lifestyle stuff. We rested more on the way you tell the story, that magic of Jab We Met, Love Aaj Kal and the most recent Rockstar. Cocktail however seemed another flat romcom, essentially an experiment to see how far the idea of a threesome can be pushed. Directed by Homi Adajania, this film feels like a rerun of all the shiny rom-coms from Bollywood’s recent past.
Cocktail begins on a promising note—with an unlikely friendship between two women, Veronica (Deepika) and Meera (Diana Penty), a doomed romance between a man and a woman, and some really good humour and emotional flavour to cherish. None of these characters appear superficial. Enter the flirty, admirable Gautam Kapoor (Saif Ali Khan) and the threesome starts having a good time. He beds Veronica but the so called turn of events happen when Gautam’s mom (Dimple Kapadia) enter and soon he falls in love with the desi girl Meera, making the free spirited wild child Veronica who believes in casual sex jealous. In next to no time the film turns boring, monotonous, and what’s worst, reaffirms all the Bollywood stereotypes there are. Scripwriter Imtiaz Ali seems to drag the film to an inanely predictable climax.
The film at no point is a write off. It has its moments but thrives more in its predictable, old gimmicks. Cinematographer Anil Mehta makes sure the film looks pretty with all its jump cuts, fast-forwards and music video-style visuals saturated in artificial colour. Ali’s characters spend a lot of time in bars and clubs beaming with the charisma of London’s nightlife. But the characters are modelled in a clichéd line and instead of being offbeat; it feels no different than a Hindi soap. However, the film never loses nosiness due to the fine performances from most of its cast. Deepika’s character is complex and she displays just enough mellowness while portraying it. Saif is visibly out-of-sorts as the naughty charm of a man, however took on an exceedingly over-the-top approach to flirting along with his Dilli accent that was part fun, part loathsome. Diana Penty has executed her part in this film pretty well, a refreshing and consistent take on the naive and homely girl.
Adajania could not pack it up well enough as it had started off breezily. This drink is just not the right one which sizzle you all the way because it has that same old one guy two girl formula. The affair which pops of between the simple loyal girl Meera and the outgoing, no-strings-attached Gautam over a post-cricket hug and dodgy pick-up lines appears to be silly. As a romcom, it had its due on the star studded cast and all appreciable art direction but would have had a meaning if it knew where it was headed. The music of the movie is hearty, thanks to Pritam who now seems to be doing away with his copy cat image. All in all, a movie with handful of genuine sparks for the 20 something audience but something you won’t love completely.