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Saturday, November 30, 2024
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BOLLYWOOD COCKTAIL
EDITOR'S PICK
`Cocktail`:
Tale of ennui told well, sparkling performances by cast
Rating:***
Out of the three protagonists in this wacky menage a trois, two people are not
as beautiful inside as they are from the outside.
Gautam and Veronica are deeply flawed characters. He, a certifiable jerk who
thinks of women , good times and partying, in that order, all the time. She,
Veronica quite like her namesa e in the Archies comics, is a sexy, naughty, loud
siren But then what happens when the party ends? What happens when the constant
search for that elusive state of being known as Good Times bores you to death?
Veronica soon finds out. In painful revelations of the darkness under the neon.
It`s a dream role for any actress.And Deepika Padukone, facing the biggest
challenge of her career, sinks her beautiful teeth into the role with the hunger
of a tamed tigress who has been let loose in a jungle for just one romp. She
gets out of her comfort zone and lets the mascara run down her distraught face
with a couldn`t-care-less gusto that glamour girls don`t generally adopt. It`s a
performance to be admired.
In truth, Deepika would have been far more comfortable playing the
butter-won`t-melt-in-the-mouth Meera (a hugely impressive debutante Diane Penty).
Deepika has apparently chosen to play the fun-loving bitch who somewhere down
the line, realises she wants all the things that he had so far scoffed at.
Not surprisingly, the film is written by Imtiaz Ali in whose "Socha Na Tha"
and "Love Aaj Kal" we met the commitment-phobic hero. In fact, there
is really no difference between Saif Ali Khan in "Love Aaj Kal" and in
"Cocktail". Except that the womanizer in the new avatar makes a lot
more faces. Experience makes for expressiveness. They both shun true love when
it stares them in the face. And then of course, the rest that follows is
predictable.
"Cocktail" is not high on surprises. The two main characters are
prematurely jaded, bored out of their wits by an excess of hedonism. Into their
lives arrives the timid golden-hearted jilted bride who needs a home and a place
to call her own. The film is really about three unmoored characters finding
their bearings. That it has been shot in London is a happy circumstance for the
characters. Cinematographer Anil Mehta makes them look ravishing in their
rain-washed lives with glimmers of sunshine peeping out in tantalizing scoops.
Unfortunately Saif silhouetted against the London`s quaint bustle is a bit of a
cliche. He brings nothing new to his role, and he isn`t entirely to be blamed
for it. Saif`s is a thankless part. He moves in with the vixen Veronica where
Meera is already ensconced after being deserted by her caddish NRI husband (Randeep
Hooda, struggling to impart substance to his wafer-thin role).
By the time the triangle concludes everyone is in love with Meera. Audience
included. Diana as the angelic girl from Delhi who is left bereft on foreign
shores (many shades from Aishwarya Rai`s Aa Ab Laut Chalen) is the discovery of
the year. She stops her Good Girl`s role from becoming sickeningly sugary. And
that`s no small achievement for a newcomer.
"Cocktail" is not quite as intoxicating as it sounds. But it`s a heady
brew about beautiful people trying to find themselves in places where life is an
endless party.The music is effective in conveying the pseudo-euphoria of people
who drown their solitude in noise. Saif is likeable when he doesn`t try too hard
to be the roving-eyed rogue. His performance in drag to "Sheila ki jawaani"
is brave.The performance on the whole is more smug than brave.
Boman Irani and Dimple Kapadia playing siblings are brilliant, specially the
former who seems incapable of giving an under-done or over-done performance.
Like Deepika, Dimple is remarkable for getting out of her comfort zone and doing
a role that would traditionally go to Kirron Kher.
Deepika and Diane are gorgeous in their respective spaces. "Cocktail"
is a very good-looking film about people who constantly seek a good time and
then realise what they thought to fun was a farce. The emotional transitions are
achieved with a fair degree of smoothness. You kind of grow to like all three
protagonists, blemishes and all.
Director Homi Adjania who made the eccentric "Being Cyrus" shows a
casual familiarity with the realm of the rom-com. He takes the basic ingredients
of the genre and plays around with the components, to emerge with a concoction
that is quite appealing in its self-deprecating humour and a rather unusual
appetite for partying.
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Savour
a mix of friendship, fashion, love in `Cocktail` (IANS Preview)
If you`ve loved
films like Dil Chahta Hai and Dostana, chances are you
would want to taste Cocktail too! With a heady mix of friendship,
love, oodles of trendsetting fashion statements, and topped with a soundtrack of
chartbusters like Tum hi ho bandhu and Daaru desi, the
film has a great buzz among youngsters ahead of its release Friday.
Directed by Being Cyrus director Homi Adajania, Cocktail
features actors Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone and newcomer Diana Penty, in
lead roles.
Co-produced by Saif Ali Khan and Dinesh Vijan of Illuminati films, the story is
centred around Gautam (Saif), Meera (Diana) and Veronica (Deepika).
Gautam is an incorrigible flirt, while Meera, a pretty girl who wears Indian
clothes and exudes Indian values, comes to London from Delhi for a fresh start,
and Veronica is a party animal.
As three people living together, they all have a blast - until love happens!
The perfect friendship turns confusing, and love becomes complicated.
Adajania says Imran Khan was his first choice for the film.
Saif was not the first choice. Imran was supposed to do it but he was not
sure if he wanted to do it at that point of a time, Adajania told IANS.
Actors Dimple Kapadia and Boman Irani feature in supporting roles.
Explaining their presence in the cast, he said: Dimple and Boman are also
there in the film and it is not like they were in `Being Cyrus` so are part of
this film as well. It is not a matter of familiarity but using talented actors
who fit the bill.
Actor Randeep Hooda will be seen in a cameo.
The film has already grabbed eyeballs for its ultra-modern styling by designer
Anaita Shroff Adajania, and bagged a thumbs-up for its music, composed by Pritam
Chakraborty.
Quirky song Second hand jawaani, with Saif, Deepika and Diana
grooving together, has also gained popularity among music lovers.
Success Party of film Cocktail Stills