COCKTAIL Reviews Box Office - Page 13

"Cocktail," this week's Bollywood release starring Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone and debutante Diana Penty, has been making waves thanks to its catchy songs and urban feel.

Cocktail is a slice-of-life film on the blurred lines between love and friendship and is set in London. Directed by Homi Adajania and written by Imtiaz Ali of "Jab We Met" fame, most critics liked the film. Others found it a bit like a cocktail that looks inviting from afar but that ultimately leaves you wondering if it was really worth your money.

Here is a roundup of what some critics had to say about the film:

Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV praised the movie for successfully avoiding the pitfalls of stereotypical romantic comedy, delivering "an eminently watchable love story that breaks the mould.

While noting that "there isn't the slightest semblance of novelty in this mnage a trios," Mr. Chatterjee says that Mr. Adajania, the director, successfully imparts "a veneer of freshness to the sparkling broth."

Giving the film three stars out of five, he found that the film "has just the right mix of fizz and flavour to allow the occasional and inevitable crinkles of triteness to flow well below the surface."

Rubina A. Khan of Firstpost was impressed with the film's humor. "Cocktail is a contemporary film that reflects life as it happens all around us," she wrote.

She particularly liked Mr. Khan, although he interprets a character who is much younger than him. "You'd think he'd look older than the two girls, but he fits right in," writes Ms. Khan.

Overall, she found "Cocktail' is a contemporary film that reflects life as it happens all around us…. just as crazy, twisted, beautiful, funny, weird and lonely as anyone's life can be. It's about easy choices and hard decisions and how life still goes on, despite it all. It's a cocktail you definitely wanna try!" She gave the film four stars out of five.

In The Times of India, Meena Iyer compared the film with the popular American sitcom "Friends," saying that "Cocktail deals with the fun moments and then the emotional turmoil faced by three Indian friends settled in the UK, whose paths cross inadvertently."

Ms. Iyer described Ms. Padukone's acting as one of the movie's several "terrific highs," saying this was "easily the best in her five-year-long career." Others included the dialogue, which she found funny.

What she liked most about the film, however, was the way in which it challenged social conventions: "What Cocktail should be truly applauded for is its permissiveness. As a film it breaks shackles and ushers in a new free spirit that Gen-Now will relate to." Ms. Iyer gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of five.

In Filmfare, Devesh Sharma, wrote that the movie scores high on cinematography. "The film is shot beautifully. Both the London and Cape Town portions looked picture perfect. Take a bow, cinematographer Anil Mehta!," he wrote.

"All-in-all, it's a nice urban romance. But again, this isn't how I would like to describe a Imtiaz-Homi collaboration. You expected something with a twist, what you get is a pat too sweet – a Bloody Mary without the Vodka," adds Mr. Sharma, who gave Cocktail three stars out of five.

But not everybody enjoyed it.

"Here's a cocktail mixed with laughs, dances, songs, tears, stunning beaches but the cumulative effect of this mix: permanent sobriety," wrote Kunal Guha of Yahoo, giving the movie just one-and-a-half stars our of five.

"One of the chief reasons why this cocktail fails to hit your sweet spot is because you don't empathize with any of the characters. There could be many reasons for this but to point one: none of them seem worthy of your attention and concern," he wrote

Direction
Homi Adajania, who made his directorial debut with BEING CYRUS, attempts a rom-com in Cocktail with effortless ease, handling a number of sequences with dexterity. Come to think of it, COCKTAIL is a complex film, which reflects the complexity and intricacies of human relationships. The highpoint of the film is the three sharply defined characters, besides, of course, the styling and visuals.

Weak second half
"But this slice-of-life film skids in the post-interval portions. In fact, if the first hour is absorbing, fascinating and pleasurable, hitting the right notes when required, the second hour is half as exciting as the first. What ails the film? Well, too many songs, an over-stretched story, the inconsistent screenplay, the beaten to death finale and the lethargic pacing," feels Adarsh.

"The film takes a more serious turn in the second half when friendship makes way for love. Yes, Cupid strikes at the intermission point; and the film follows the oft-seen path of a typical triangular drama that has been a Bollywood staple through the last two decades," writes Iyer.

"The first half, light and frothy for the most part, is fun, while the second half gets maudlin and laboured more than it needs to. There are fabulous moments, as when Deepika is asked to keep her knees together by Boman Irani and when Saif's hormones go a-raging and he is cheerfully snubbed by his girl; and then there are rona-dhona moments when all you want to do is go find the popcorn counter outside. Does it end with a happily-ever-after scene? Watch it to find out," says Bollywood Life.

"Adajania starts off breezily enough, all effortless-flirting and shotglasses and dramatically teary mascara, but the threadbare and increasingly inane plot unspools halfway through, leaving us with a shoddy, frustratingly random sequence of events. The last one-third of the film features the kind of emotional melee that can only be rightfully resolved by handing one of the girls a samurai sword. Alas, no such bloody respite is offered," writes Raja Sen, Rediff.

"At every given point in the second half, a minimum of one person is sulking or getting seriously injured or emotionally battered and the soundtrack ensures the suffering translates to the audience as well. Remember the 'Tanhayee' song sequence from 'Dil Chahta Hai'? OK now imagine that sequence going on for 99% of the second half. So finish your popcorn in the first half, unless you prefer it soggy," writes Kunal Guha, Yahoo.

Performances
"Saif and Deepika team up for the third time and the chemistry and comfort between the actors is unmistakably obvious. Saif has that flair for rom-coms and Homi injects the Delhi flavor into his character, which makes his character all the more notable. Saif fits into his character fluently and leaves a deep-seated impression. The scene stealer is, without doubt, Deepika, who not only looks sizzling hot, but pitches in her career-best performance. She lets herself loose, surrenders to her character wholly and nails the performance. It's an incredibly noticeable act. It wouldn't be erroneous to state that Cocktail would do for Deepika what JAB WE MET did for Kareena," says Adarsh.

"Diana, who makes her acting debut, gets to portray a rather difficult character for her debut film. There's a very disarming kind of innocence that she brings to the role and she impresses a great deal. Dimple Kapadia is in terrific form, portraying the atypical North Indian lady with gusto. Boman Irani is first-rate, especially in sequences with Dimple. Randeep Hooda's character is under-nourished," he adds. "Cocktail does have some terrific highs. One is Deepika Padukone's performance. Easily the best in her five-year-long career; Deepika also looks sensational throughout. You almost wish the camera had stayed her longer on her in that red itsy-bitsy bikini. DP will definitely win notices and nominations for her near-faultless performance of the rich-spoilt-neglected-girl-with-a-heart-of-gold," says Iyer.

"Saif is terrific in parts, insipid in others. And the other DP, Diana Penty makes for a pretty picture; but she could certainly do with some polishing. Randeep Hooda as a rake, running a hoax marriage business, is completely wasted," she adds.

"Homi Adjania's direction is impeccable, with Padukone the jewel in his crown. Her character is complex and she displays just enough maturity while portraying it. Finally, one has a reason to say she can act. Penty is awkward, just like Meera. She reminds one of Nargis Fakhri in Ali's last, Rockstar, only a little better. Khan "oozes charm" as he plays catch-up with much younger leading ladies," writes Chettiar.

"If Saif Ali Khan can do something effortlessly and unabashedly, it is to play a fulltime flirt with the confidence of a Tendulkar opening the batting order against Canada. If only he wasn't wearing a Kabir Bedi bobblehead (or so it seemed) over his body, he could've looked the part too. But since he does, it ends up like the final season of 'Friends' where 40 year-olds talk like 20-year-olds and no one wants to tell them to move on since it works for the network. For Deepika, this has to be a risky role to accept, given how clinical the industry is with typecasting. The next thing you know: she's reduced to playing that girl who every hero wants to take home, only when the mother isn't there. Diana Penty couldn't have got a better vehicle to display her offerings: eyes that fill up with emotion and twinkle with delight, a supermodel-esque body that can be wrapped in rags to be a believable girl-next-door or the girl you wished was your neighbour," writes Guha.

Conclusion
"On the whole, Cocktail has a fascinating first half, charismatic performances, harmonious music and the trendy look and styling as its aces, but the second half is not as tempting or intoxicating as the first hour. It pales when compared to the attention-grabbing first hour. Yet, all said and done, this one's primarily targeted at the Gen Next, especially those in metros, who might identify with the on-screen characters," concludes Adarsh.

"Go see Cocktail with your closest friends. It will definitely strengthen the bond," says Iyer.

"It's a pity, and not just because this could have been the great unconventional cinematic threesome we so desperately need. Cocktail has a handful of moments and a few genuine sparks, but finally crashes and burns so spectacularly that it's hard to focus on the positives. We must thank it, thus, for Diana Penty," feels Sen.

"You can't hate a film like Cocktail nor can you love it in totality. If you've liked Ali's storytelling before, there's no harm in catching it at least once. Cheers!" says Chettiar.

"One of the chief reasons why this cocktail fails to hit your sweet spot is because you don't empathize with any of the characters. There could be many reasons for this but to point one: none of them seem worthy of your attention and concern," writes Guha.