Such a frustrating disappointment

Really Surprised!

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Although 'Cocktail' was peddled as a movie for the those in their 20s, there was nothing in particular that pertained to the youth. In fact, if the writers thought that the 20's something generation was as shallow as their characters, they are surely mistaken. 'Cocktail' is just your average Desi romance flick with some good songs.The film opens with Gautam Kapoor (Saif Ali Khan) flirting with a flight attendant on the way to London, something he repeats with many girls in the film. On another flight is a newly wedded conservative girl Meera Gupta (Diana Penty) on her way to meet her husband of a sham wedding. And then there is the carefree Veronica D'Costa (Deepika Padukone) for whom partying is a way of life.Circumstances lead to a helpless Meera finding shelter in Veronica's home. The two soon become close buddies. Gautam who is in a casual relationship with Veronica moves in with them. Later, after a run in with his mom and uncle who may not be approving of Veronica, he pretends that Meera is his girl. The two don't like each other much, but as the movie progresses, sparks fly between them.While we are accustomed to seeing Saif in yuppie playboy roles in 'Hum Tum', he must realize that many years have now passed since he did them. And his age now shows. Although his mom in the film Dimple Kapadia says he is 32, he surely looks a decade older, closer to his actual age, 42. Despite this glaring drawback, some of his Casanova antics are funny although some others are way overboard.There was a quite a bit of noise about Diana Penty's debut but there is nothing remarkable about her. She is overshadowed by Deepika, both in the looks department and acting. In fact, Diana Penty was the first choice to play Ranbir's love interest in 'Rockstar' which eventually went to Nargis Fakhri. After watching cocktail, it was evident that if Penty was cast in Rockstar, the film wouldn't have had as much impact.Deepika Padukone, for one, has actually learned some acting skills. Compared to what she was in 'Om Shanti Om', she has come a long way. Also, she carries off her designer wear with aplomb. Amidst all the gloom, her acting is an asset to the film.Where the film fails are with its poor writing and shallow characters who are seen partying around most of time as if they are on an unending holiday. None of them have must depth to their personality. Boman Irani & Dimple Kapadia contribute to some funny moments, but isn't enough to keep it going.The worst thing about cocktail is that it aligns with the hypocritical Indian moral view where Veronica, the promiscuous party-girl is a bad girl while a god-fearing and docile type casted Meera is supposedly virtuous and gets the guy in the end. All this when our hero manages to 'patao' every other girl around except Meera. Maybe it's only the hunt that gets him interested in her rather than anything else.Songs like 'Tumhi Ho Bandhu', 'Daaru Desi' are already runaway hits. But with Pritam being the Music Director, we would never know the source till one looks up YouTube with the search string 'pritam songs + copy' . As far as the Punjabi folk song 'Jugni' is concerned, the movie makers have purchased rights for its use.'Cocktail' comes across as a confused film. Did they want to show a purely romantic flick like 'Love Aaj Kal' exploring urban relationships? Or did they want to play safe with some 'homely girl vs. party girl: who gets the boy' theme? Or was this meant to be a comedy? In fact, it is a cocktail of these three, with the recipe gone awry.Now for the verdict: Don't be fooled by its name coz this cocktail isn't going to get you intoxicated. Probably, one can call it a mock-tail instead. Don't even watch it on TV.

Have we seen this story before, sure. Did this version breathe new life into the clichéd storyline? Well, that's up for discussion. As for me, I was thoroughly impressed with the cast, story and songs of 'Cocktail' and pleasantly surprised by the previously unannounced guest appearances by the likes of Randeep Hooda (who plays a real creeper husband from hell of newcomer Diana Penty's character) Boman Irani and Dimple Kapadia who provide comic relief to the otherwise intensely dramatic tale that plays out in the lives of the leads. Deepika Padukone (Om Shanti Om, Desi Boyz) plays Veronica, a mysterious wild child who rules the London nightlife scene until she crosses paths with Meera (Diana Penty) who has come to London via Delhi in search of her husband Kunal played by Hooda. A friendship forms between the ladies until one night on their way to a nightclub when Meera spots a man who had been harassing her upon her arrival in the country and tells Veronica about it, Veronica being her wild child self goes and confronts the man (Gautam) played by Saif Ali Khan (Agent Vinod, Omkara, Hum Tum) and embarrasses him in front of his friends and co-workers as payback. Later that evening, Veronica spots the Gautam in the nightclub and strikes up a conversation with him and as the night progresses sparks begin to fly between them and a relationship between the two follows shortly after. Everything between the friends goes well until Gautam's mother (played by Kapadia) comes to visit from India and is dismayed to find two women in her son's flat, given that she had been trying to match-make him and get him married back home she is taken aback by her discovery. Gautam quickly devises a plot to calm his mother down by pretending that Meera, the more suitable girl is his fiancée knowing fully well that his mother would never accept scantily-clad and ill-mannered Veronica as her daughter-in-law. The ruse sticks initially but what happens next makes up the rest of the film. Within the first ten minutes of the film, I already figured out how the film was going to end but nevertheless for its entertainment value, I rate it 9/10.

Had the intention to see this movie for quite a long time, I had seen the first 20 minutes earlier and found it to be very funny but could not continue , Yesterday I was able to watch the whole movie,The first half has very nice scenes, and good comic timing. The second half, however, made me exaggerated like hell. Too sentimental too melodramatic second half, and the story just doesn't continue. There is no great plot in the movie, and I felt that the running time could have been reduced by around 30 minutes. However, what saves the movie is Deepika Padukone s acting, Some of the serious and emotional scenes in the second half she has played brilliantly, especially the party scene in the club. Her acting is just a treat to watch. Saif Ali Khan has given an average performance, but this kind of role he has enacted too many times in the past with movies like Hum Tum, Salaam-e-Ishq etc. He is I feel, getting too old for these kind of roles. The newcomer Diana Penty, apart from being pretty, has put in a decent first performance, and has not got overshadowed by the other two actors.The music by Pritam is really nice. My favourite songs are 'Desi Daru', 'Jugni' (a different genre of song but has started to grow on me ) and the Agnee song 'Yaariyan'. Overall a great album which you can listen to, independent of the movie too.Overall I would give it 6/10 only because of Deepika's acting performance and the nice soundtrack. Good that I didn't waste my money watching this in the theatre :)

Cocktail was among those movies for which I was waiting for a long time.But it proved to be nothing except a disappointment.The only good thing about the movie was the music,songs,and the stars,specially Deepika and Diana.Diana,as far as I know needs to polish up her acting skills otherwise she is good on screen.The story line could have been much better.Is a one time watch but not up to the mark of their previous film,Love Aaj Kal.First half was interesting but it was the second half that spoiled the movie.I don't want to call it a bad film because there are movies that one can't tolerate.It's not a great film. The team could have made it better than what it is.Overall,interesting and entertaining to watch.