Film: Cocktail
Director: Homi Adajania
Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone, Diana Penty, Boman Irani, Dimple Kapadia
Rating: ***
The pattern in films written by Imtiaz Ali is clear. Appealing locations, ill-fated love stories, characters with distinct traits and music you can take home.
Cocktail is no different. From hip cinematography to very believable performances and peppy music, Cocktail has it all.
For photographer Veronica (Deepika Padukone) who lives alone in London, every single day is one where she could go hog wild with alcohol, drugs and all that follows. From the looks of it, she could never get tired of it. When meek Meera (Diana Penty) moves in with her after being dumped by her husband Kunal (Randeep Hooda), a quick and uncanny friendship starts blossoming.
Enter Gautam Kapoor (Saif Ali Khan) who is in a no-strings-attached relationship with Veronica. When Meera and Gautam, who apparently hate each other, discover they could be in love, is when this cocktail starts giving you a kick.
The first half of Cocktail establishes the premise; it’s a fun, happy life, where song after song tells of how Veronica, Meera and Gautam are different personalities. But did we need one and a half hours for that? I don’t think so. What could have been effective in 120 minutes is stretched to 146. But songs like Tumhi Ho Bandhu, Daaru Desi and Jugni keep you good company. Pritam’s done a good job and with no plagiarism charges (so far), we mustn’t complain.
Cinematographer Anil Mehta makes sure the film looks and feels great, scene after scene. Ali’s characters spend a lot of time in bars and clubs, one party scene segueing into another. Mehta ensures they look authentic, capturing London’s nightlife with panache.
Homi Adjania’s direction is impeccable, with Deepika the jewel in his crown. She looks ravishing and is one actress who can carry off a bikini. Her character is complex and she displays just enough maturity while portraying it. She pitches in her career-best performance. She lets herself loose, surrenders to her character wholly and nails the performance. She’s the soul of the film and excels in every scene, whether as a material girl who enjoys sex, drugs and rock and roll or as the jealousy ridden girl out to destroy herself.It's an incredibly noticeable act. Finally, one has a reason to say she can act. It wouldn't be erroneous to state that COCKTAIL would do for Deepika what JAB WE MET did for Kareena. The good thing is that the actors gel together and look natural as a yuppie threesome having a good time.Khan “oozes charm” as he plays catch-up with much younger leading ladies. Saif gets all the nice little touches of a man who had everything sorted out till love comes along and spoils the party. Penty is awkward, just like Meera. She reminds one of Nargis Fakhri in Ali’s last, Rockstar, only a little better. After a point you start feeling sorry for Gautam, sandwiched between friendship, love and all that jazz that makes living difficult. Boman Irani as Gautam’s Mama with a colourful past and Dimple Kapadia as his loud-mouth, conservative Delhi mother add their bits to make this concoction enjoyable.
Director: Homi Adajania
Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone, Diana Penty, Boman Irani, Dimple Kapadia
Rating: ***
The pattern in films written by Imtiaz Ali is clear. Appealing locations, ill-fated love stories, characters with distinct traits and music you can take home.
Cocktail is no different. From hip cinematography to very believable performances and peppy music, Cocktail has it all.
For photographer Veronica (Deepika Padukone) who lives alone in London, every single day is one where she could go hog wild with alcohol, drugs and all that follows. From the looks of it, she could never get tired of it. When meek Meera (Diana Penty) moves in with her after being dumped by her husband Kunal (Randeep Hooda), a quick and uncanny friendship starts blossoming.
Enter Gautam Kapoor (Saif Ali Khan) who is in a no-strings-attached relationship with Veronica. When Meera and Gautam, who apparently hate each other, discover they could be in love, is when this cocktail starts giving you a kick.
The first half of Cocktail establishes the premise; it’s a fun, happy life, where song after song tells of how Veronica, Meera and Gautam are different personalities. But did we need one and a half hours for that? I don’t think so. What could have been effective in 120 minutes is stretched to 146. But songs like Tumhi Ho Bandhu, Daaru Desi and Jugni keep you good company. Pritam’s done a good job and with no plagiarism charges (so far), we mustn’t complain.
Cinematographer Anil Mehta makes sure the film looks and feels great, scene after scene. Ali’s characters spend a lot of time in bars and clubs, one party scene segueing into another. Mehta ensures they look authentic, capturing London’s nightlife with panache.
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Homi Adjania’s direction is impeccable, with Deepika the jewel in his crown. She looks ravishing and is one actress who can carry off a bikini. Her character is complex and she displays just enough maturity while portraying it. She pitches in her career-best performance. She lets herself loose, surrenders to her character wholly and nails the performance. She’s the soul of the film and excels in every scene, whether as a material girl who enjoys sex, drugs and rock and roll or as the jealousy ridden girl out to destroy herself.It's an incredibly noticeable act. Finally, one has a reason to say she can act. It wouldn't be erroneous to state that COCKTAIL would do for Deepika what JAB WE MET did for Kareena. The good thing is that the actors gel together and look natural as a yuppie threesome having a good time.Khan “oozes charm” as he plays catch-up with much younger leading ladies. Saif gets all the nice little touches of a man who had everything sorted out till love comes along and spoils the party. Penty is awkward, just like Meera. She reminds one of Nargis Fakhri in Ali’s last, Rockstar, only a little better. After a point you start feeling sorry for Gautam, sandwiched between friendship, love and all that jazz that makes living difficult. Boman Irani as Gautam’s Mama with a colourful past and Dimple Kapadia as his loud-mouth, conservative Delhi mother add their bits to make this concoction enjoyable.
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