Cocktail

It could have been a little more better. The movie starts off with an impressive first-half having its fun moments and builds a good interest among the spectators. The second-half looked story-less and a mere drag! It was a decent try to build an emotional scene but wasn't a very successful attempt. Good performance by the cast of the film. Saif Ali Khan gives a good funny side to this otherwise boring film with the same regular bollywood story! The screenplay and the sound department didn't really help to keep the spectators interested for the whole movie ! Few of the scenes had no sound effects , No background music for the emotional scenes. A good debut by Diana Penty who plays the role of Meera- The perfect Indian bride very well. Also no one could have played the role of Veronica better than Deepika Padukone. All in all the movie dint live up to the expectations and could have been a little better ! A definite once watch - 6/10 Cheers !

The good point of this movie is it not very filmy. The acting done by all the 3 main characters are above average, and story is also good. I read in a review someone was asking for background musical score. Then watch Balaji TV serials. Even the Oscar winner movie "No country for old men" did not have any background score. If you want real life like picture then you have to FEEL it. And if you want just family gathering entertainment then watch Balaji serials or SAB TV. If Boman Irani have got any more footage and scenes in the movie this movie could have failed terribly and may become a Houseful kind of movie. So right editing and right stories. Dimple Kapadi acting was very good, as usual.

Cocktail – CATCH IT (B) From promos Cocktail looked like something really out of the box or fresh but sadly it's just another story about 2 best friends falling for the same Casanova guy. Now the only thing made this movie different from the previous movies was the brilliant performance and confidence of Deepika Padakone, this woman was amazing and literally stole the show with her brilliant performance. She deserves all the accolades, as she brought this sympathy into audience's hearts towards the party girls. That even though they are bold, and do crazy stuff it doesn't mean that they don't have heart or don't want simple things in life. On the other hand Saif Ali Khan as Casanova was irritating. He has the looks but c'mon his cheesy dialogues and pickup lines were just too cheap to ignore. New girl Diana Penty makes a good impression. The music of the movie is really good. In the end, it's a typical movie with nothing new but still enjoyable and a must see for Deepika's Performance.

COCKTAIL as the name suggests is a perfect example of the chaotic formula usually followed in our Hindi Films. Chaotic, because they often make a mess out of a film which in reality could have been a great entertainer for all the young at heart. In fact it has now become a routine to see new big banner films with a great star-cast, starting off brilliantly in their first half and then crashing down miserably in the second as if the makers had lost their interest in its making.

Unfortunately COCKTAIL also falls in the same category of films which successfully manage to impress the viewer before the intermission but then suddenly become tough to handle in their second half since they have nothing new to offer in terms of content or storyline. Now in case of COCKTAIL, no doubt the viewer already knew that its going to be the same love triangle as visible in its promos but still the treatment looked fresh and interesting with some good songs. So the excitement level was there which really gets served well in its first 90 minutes.

But then what happens to the entire narration, writing, direction and acting in its later reels forces you to think that, "If the viewers can see this huge negative difference in the two halves of a movie then why the writers cannot see the same while writing it or why the director cannot see it while directing it or why the actors cannot see it while enacting it or why the consultants cannot report the same while watching the rushes of the movie while its being shot?"

Putting it differently, COCKTAIL is quite similar to the pouring of beer which excites you well with its energetic sound, bubbles and smell while its filling up the glass. But if you keep the same beer for a while then it just becomes useless losing all its charm, energy & taste representing the second half of the movie. Such is a contrast in its two halves that it further raises two questions that Whether there happened to be any problem in its making leading to this mess and Whether this was the exact movie, director wished to make in his mind or not?

Personally, I enjoyed watching both its performances and the treatment given to its predictable storyline before the intermission. But post that, the same narration turns so routine that it becomes really hard to even bear it for another hour or so. Also the writers remain pretty confused about how to portray their characters on the screen in moral terms. For instance, I kept thinking that How they really wanted to show Deepika's character as? Was she a drug addict, a freedom loving person believing in free sex (sleeping with everyone) or just believed in being available?….Who was she as a person really? In the similar manner, the script is also never interested in talking about the character of Randeep Hooda, in the role of a cunning husband.

In the music department, though the songs sound great as a soundtrack but they do hinder the pace of the movie adding to its extra length. Pritam also borrows two hit Punjabi tracks from Pakistan's Arif Lohar (Jugni -Coke Studio fame) and Punjab's Honey Singh-Gippy Grewal (Angrezi Beat), may be since he is now working with Honey in his future projects too (probably RACE 2). Background music by Salim Suleman is cool working well in its romantic scenes and Cinematography surely adds to the exciting look of the movie in great terms. But writing about the technical aspects of the film would remain incomplete here if I do not mention the styling or fashion part of the movie deserving full marks for its appealing outfits.

Performance wise COCKTAIL is unarguably a Ladies film from start to finish withDeepika taking a small lead from Diana due to her bindas portrayal and skin show. She looks sizzling hot, comes straight out of her shell and delivers the best performance of her career till date. Diana Penty as the calm girl supporting Deepika, makes a highly impressive debut which is sure going to be noticed by the Industry. She really looks beautiful & elegant in all the Indian outfits and brings a special kind of innocence to his character deserving praises. Dimple Kapadia is truly lovable as Saif's mother and one enjoys her scenes a lot in particular.

Talking about men, the film has a half hearted kind of performance by one of its producers, Saif Ali Khan. May be because he has done these kind of flirting roles many times before which have now lost the pull. Though Saif is not bad but he really is not there in his full spirits. Boman Irani shines in his few scenes and Randeep Hooda is treated like a forgotten character by the writers.

As a director, Homi Adajania who earlier gave us BEING CYRUS is in his full form in the first half of the film. But what actually happened in the second?....is a question which only he can answer the best. COCKTAIL does have traces of Woody Allen's VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA in its initial reels but then it quickly falls off from the height and gets into the same old routine Indian emotional plot of a love triangle and its sacrifice.

In short, the film can easily be compared to a COCKTAIL party in which you are first served with an imported Gin and then later on the bar- tenders start pouring some Desi Daru into your glasses openly. On a serious note, its really sad that they really ruined a potential sparkling film just like that.

First fool around as much as you can and then settle down for a nice girl. How many times do we have to watch this? There is nothing good Cocktail really offers. I do not even need to give summary of the story. Everything we already watched before. Plus, the ending is way too predictable. Saif is in his same boring role of a player. He was once quite good at playing this character, but now there is something wrong with his face. Sure he looks old. There is nothing wrong with this. Only thing is that his face now has some kind of wildness and that makes him perfect for darker roles.

The second most irritating character was Deepika's. Yes, she is a party girl and personally she did well at portraying it. But the director went overboard with it. Sometimes I felt as if she went to clubs just because it was her real job and for dancing and drinking she got paid hourly. There was also less development in her role. We only get to hear the reason behind her wild lifestyle, but get to see nothing of it. The savior in the film is the new girl, Diana Penty. She is sweet, cute and innocent. More of Dimple was necessary. Unfortunately, she is only minute's guest.

I wouldn't recommend this movie to anyone. It's simply because it has nothing unique.