There are several reasons why Cocktail was one of the keenly-awaited releases this month; the music was hugely popular, Imtiaz Ali – directed of Jab We Met, Love Aaj Kal – is credited as the story-writer and the film is directed by Homi Adajania, who last directed the critically acclaimed Being Cyrus.
The chemistry between Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone and new-face Diana Penty, was also something to look forward to.
Story: Cocktail is the journey of three different characters. Veronica, a young girl who carries a carefree-attitude and lives life to the fullest. Her life is all about parties, booze and men! One day, Veronica finds a crying Meera (Diana) in a loo and gives her a place to stay. Meera is a traditional Indian girl, with deep cultural values – quite different from the wild Veronica. Yet the two quickly become friends.
Enter Gautham (Saif) a charming good looking man and women love his company. Veronica and Gautham bump into each other at a night club and start living in together. The three soon become good friends.
All hell breaks lose when Gautham falls for his girlfriend’s best friend.. Meera!
Cocktail Review
Cocktail starts off well, the first half is fast-paced and has some genuinely funny tongue-in-cheek humor. It’s a lot of fun to watch three different characters live together, share their lives and gradually develop a strong bonding. Director Homi Adajania handles the ‘cocktail’ of human relationships pretty well. Watch out for the scene on the hill, just before the interval, when Gautham begins to realize that he’s slowly falling in love with Meera. And when Veronica tries to impress Gautham by trying to be like Meera.
The second half though, pales in comparison. It suffers from being predictable and slow. Fortunately though, the actors make up for it – Saif Ali Khan is fantastic as Gautham with perfect comic timing and flair. As for Deepika, her performance looks pretty natural on-screen. It’s a character that required her to shed all her inhibitions, much like Vidya Balan in ‘The Dirty Picture’.. In short, a difficult role and she delivers!
Finally, the surprise package – Diana Penty. Given a character that is quite easy to fall in love with, Diana adds her own charm to deliver what is easily the most-lovable performance of the year. Oh and she looks absolutely beautiful.
Daru Desi and Tumhi Ho Bandhu – two of my favorite tracks in the film – are beautifully picturized and choreographed, with the later shot on the picturesque beaches of Cape Town, South Africa.
Overall, Cocktail is a fun watch, with great music, humour and fabulous performances. The target audience is the urban youth, as the film has very little to offer for the ‘mass’ single-screen audience.
Go for it, if not for anything else.. then for Diana Penty. She is well worth the price of your ticket!
Rating: 
