Cocktail
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Homi Adajania
Produced by	Saif Ali Khan Dinesh Vijan
Written by	Imtiaz Ali Sajid Ali
Starring	Saif Ali Khan Deepika Padukone Diana Penty Dimple Kapadia Boman Irani Randeep Hooda
Music by	Pritam Chakraborty
Cinematography	Anil Mehta
Editing by	Sreekar Prasad
Studio	Illuminati Films
Distributed by	Eros International
Release date(s)	13 July 2012 (2012-07-13)
Running time	144 minutes[1]
Country	India
Language	Hindi

Cocktail is a 2012 Indian romantic comedy-drama film directed by Homi Adajania under the banner of Illuminati Films. The film stars Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone and newcomer Diana Penty in lead roles, with Dimple Kapadia and Boman Irani appearing in supporting roles.^[2][3] Randeep Hooda appears in extended special appearance. ^[4] Cocktail released worldwide on 13 July 2012 and received positive to mixed comments from critics, with major praise directed to Deepika's performance. The film also emerged as a major commercial success in both India and abroad. After its three-week run, Boxofficeindia declared the movie a hit in India and abroad.^[5]

Plot [edit]

When Veronica (Deepika Padukone) and Meera (Diana Penty) meet unexpectedly, they start living together during the summer in London. Meera is a shy, introvert and recovering from a hoax marriage to Kunal Ahuja (Randeep Hooda) who has relieved her of her life-savings under the pretence of setting up a base for them in London while Veronica is a rich, spoilt brat who is fearless and free. Meera is spending her time under Veronica’s roof until she can get some footing and find a job in this foreign land. Veronica, on the other hand, is a wild-child, impulsive, constantly looking for distractions to escape facing issues of a troubled upbringing. Being poles apart brings the two close, forging a loyal and solid friendship. Life takes a new turn when Gautam Kapoor (Saif Ali Khan), a software engineer by profession, starts living with them in Veronica's house.

A sudden spurt of events lead to a panicked Gautam telling his mother (Dimple Kapadia) that Meera is the person with whom he is in a relationship. He takes Meera's name as she is the ideal Indian girl every mother would like to have as a daughter-in-law when compared to Veronica. When the trio are on a holiday to Cape Town, Gautam and Meera develop feelings for each other and fall in love. Veronica also realises that she has fallen in love with Gautam. Soon Gautam realises that he is in the horns of dilemma since he has to choose between Meera and Veronica. Veronica is willing to become an ideal Indian woman which Gautam's mom wants in her daughter-in-law. She tries to change her modern personality. Meera ends up sacrificing her love for her best friend Veronica and moves away from Gautam's and Veronica's lives. Even though Gautam stays with Veronica, he changes and he is never the flirt he used to be because of his love for Meera. Veronica realises that Gautam's true love is Meera and she should not come between the two. Towards the end of the story, Gautam and Meera confess their love for each other and decide to get married and thus Veronica helps Gautam marry Meera.

Cast [edit]

• Saif Ali Khan as Gautam Kapoor aka Gutlu
• Deepika Padukone as Veronica Malaney
• Diana Penty as Meera Sahni
• Dimple Kapadia as Kavita Kapoor
• Boman Irani as Randhir "Randy" Kapoor alias Tinku
• Randeep Hooda as Kunal Ahuja (extended special appearance)
• Manoj Pahwa (special appearance)
• Mia Uyeda (special appearance)
• Tena Desae (special appearance)

Production [edit]

Casting [edit]

Imran Khan and Deepika Padukone were signed on to play the leads in the film, after their chemistry in the promos of Break Ke Baad struck a chord with the youth.^[6] However, the former declined the film and was consequently replaced by Saif Ali Khan, who decided to also produce the film under his production house Illuminati Films.^[7][8] Padukone was offered both the roles of Veronica and Meera, however the character of Meera was similar to her role in Love Aaj Kal and so she chose the role of Veronica as a challenge.^[9] Model Diana Penty, who was earlier supposed to play the female lead in Imtiaz Ali's Rockstar, was later signed on to Cocktail instead, on Ali's suggestion, and thus made her debut in Bollywood.^[10]

Filming [edit]

Shooting of the film started at the end of May 2011, in London. Many scenes have been shot indoors, although the crew primarily filmed on the streets of London. Locations of the filming in London include Borough High Street, Borough market, Portobello Road, Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus, Mayfair, Clapham Junction, Battersea Park, Bank Station, St. Pauls London, Colville Gardens (Notting Hill), and Brick Lane.^[12] The film was also shot in Cape Town, South Africa.^[13] Padukone has gyrated to a Punjabi party song (Main Sharaabi) at the The Grand nightclub in Clapham Junction, by dancing on a table. This is reminiscent of a dance sequence in the song Chor Bazaari from Love Aaj Kal. Whilst security was extra tight on the day to prevent outsiders entering the premises, a DJ was hired for the music and club lights were also used to make the scene look as real as possible.^[12]

Trailer [edit]

Earlier, it was reported that the theatrical trailer of the film would be attached to the prints of Khan's previous home production, Agent Vinod,^[14] although the makers decided against this for unknown reasons. The official trailer was eventually launched on 21 May 2012, to a phenomenal response from critics and audiences, crossing 1 million hits on YouTube within 3 days.^[15]

Reception [edit]

Critical reception [edit]

Cocktail received positive to mixed critical response. On the review-aggregation website ReviewGang, the movie scored 5.5/10 stars, based on 14 reviews.^[16]

Rubina A Khan of Firstpost gave the movie 4/5 stars, saying that "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!"^[17]

Khalid Mohamed of Deccan Chronicle gave the movie 3.5/5 stars, concluding that "Whatever the flaws and dips in energy-level, Cocktail is a feel-wonderful movie. Shake it, stir it and get nicely woozy."^[18] Meena Iyer of Times of India gave the movie 3.5/5 stars, commenting that "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."^[19] Aniruddha Guha of DNA India gave the movie 3.5/5 stars, stating that "The best thing about Cocktail is that it is as different as a film can get within a very conventional format. My favourite scene has Gautam talk to Veronica and Meera together about his feelings towards each of them. “Look. You love me. I love her. Let’s sort this mess out.” A rare moment in Hindi cinema."^[20] Anupama Chopra of Hindustan Times gave the movie 3.5/5 stars, commenting that "This cocktail is full of fizz."^[21] Indicine gave the movie 3.5/5 stars, saying that "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!"^[22]

Nabanita Roy of One India gave the movie 3/5 stars, concluding that "On the whole, Cocktail is colourful, fascinating and attention-grabbing. Though the movie suffers a few loopholes, but, you definitely can't ignore the threesome magic of Saif-Dippy-Diana."^[23] Resham Sengar of Zee News gave the movie 3/5 stars, stating that "‘Cocktail’ is worth a try!"^[24] Devesh Sharma of Filmfare gave the movie 3/5 stars, concluding that "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."^[25] Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave the movie 3/5 stars, commenting that "Cocktail has just the right mix of fizz and flavour to allow the occasional and inevitable crinkles of triteness to flow well below the surface. It is definitely worth a visit to the multiplex."^[26] Vinayak Chakravorthy of India Today gave the movie 3/5 stars, concluding that "If Cocktail works, it is mainly for the characters Imtiaz has penned well as the cool with which the lead stars live them on screen."^[27] Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave the movie 3/5 stars, saying that "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."^[28] Blessy Chettiar of DNA India gave the movie 3/5 stars, stating that "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!"^[29] Meetu of Wogma gave the movie 3/5 stars, concluding that "A good chick flick is just the right amount of chewing gum for the brain. Light and breezy it is good while it lasts. Cocktail lasts till a little after interval when it starts moping and mulling. A promising start meets a generic, uninteresting end."^[30]

Nikhil Kumar of Apun Ka Choice gave the movie 2.5/5 stars, saying that "What works in Cocktail is the film’s first half. It’s breezy, funny and laced with Saif’s roguish charm, Deepika’s raging dipsomania, and Diana’s winsome bashfulness. It’s in the second half that the plot goes haywire and despite all the scramble by Homi Adajania to cobble it together into a meaningful, touching piece of drama, Cocktail ends up being a good looking average film, a cute but overlong rom-com that any girl can take her boyfriend to on a movie date, provided she doesn’t take along her best female friend. For three, as the film shows, can be a crowd."^[31] Bollywood Life gave the movie 2.5/5 stars, stating that "As for the film – very niche, very easy on the eye and ear and a lot of the time, very fun."^[32] Kaushik L.M of Behind Woods gave the movie 2.5/5 stars, concluding that "The light hearted fun and romance resurrect this cocktail."^[33] Mansha Rastogi of Now Running gave the movie 2.5/5 stars, saying that "Cocktail can make for a decent time-pass watch if you have the capacity to digest the cliched melodrama."^[34] Shubhra Gupta of Indian Express gave the movie 2.5/5 stars, concluding that "Cocktail is nice while the fizz lasts."^[35] Roshni Devi of Koimoi gave the movie 2.5/5 stars, saying that "Cocktail is a nice and enjoyable movie for the dialogues, songs and performances. But the second half is a real drag."^[36] Nikhil Ravishanker of Mutiny gave the movie 2.5/5 stars, stating that "While the first half is quite entertaining, the plot simply fails to fall in place in the second half."^[37] Pooja Thakkar of The Film Street Journal gave the movie 2.5/5 stars, concluding that "A very average love triangle with no sharp edges. It’s the kind that’s available in every corner of the neighbourhood college canteen or office cubicle."^[38]

Sonia Chopra of Sify gave the movie 2/5 stars, stating that "Drink this cocktail if you must; but be warned, the concoction isn’t as appetizing as it looks!"^[39] That's So Gloss! echoed this criticism in a review, stating: "[Cocktail] says it’s okay when the guy does it, but when a lady does the same thing, she is immoral, and society must punish her in some way. A textbook example of a “double-standard”."^[40] Martin D'Souza of Glamsham gave the movie 2/5 stars, saying that "It's a cocktail alright, but one which lacks punch. A flat drink with no fizz and lots of salt at the rim of the glass which knocks you back with its sting."^[41] Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN gave the movie 2/5 stars, concluding that "I'm going with two out of five for director Homi Adajania's Cocktail. With the right ingredients in the right proportions, this might have made for a smooth concoction. But Cocktail is a mostly flat romance; one that could've done with more heart."^[42] Janhavi Samant of Midday gave the movie 2/5 stars, stating that "There are people who love films about freefalling NRIs, who have jobs but never seem to work, who love the thrills of casual sex but only till they find a desi wife who wil serve home-cooked food, and who can go to Cape Town from London for just a weekend, and whose biggest crisis is to decide if what they feel is ‘true’ love. But this critic ain’t one of them."^[43] Suparna Sharma of Deccan Chronicle gave the movie 2/5 stars, commenting that "Cocktail, because of its high sugar content, initially gives a heady rush, but leaves a bad hangover."^[44] Raja Sen of Rediff gave the movie 2/5 stars, commenting that "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."^[45]

Kunal Guha of Yahoo! gave the movie 1.5/5 stars, stating that "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. Still keen to figure out who Saif ends up with? Why don’t you deduce it yourself like any mature adult would? I would recommend the scientific method used to pick item girls in films lately: Eenie Meenie…"^[46] Mayank Shekhar of Daily Bhaskar gave the movie 1.5/5 stars, concluding that "You feel worse for Saif aged 43. It's hard to tell how every woman he meets in the movie gets turned on by his random charms. The world is his playground. He still makes it seem vaguely convincing. Here’s a big league actor at the top of his form. Look at his recent films: Agent Vinod, Aarakshan, Kurbaan. Forget those films. Just check out his performances. He could do with much better movies. Surely. Seriously."^[47]

Soundtrack [edit]

The music of Cocktail is composed by Pritam, with lyrics from Irshad Kamil. The makers have bought the rights of a famous Punjabi song "Alif Allah (Jugni)" (This song is about the praise of Allah, Islamic prophet Muhammad and other Khalifs), originally sung and popularised by Pakistani Punjabi folk singer Arif Lohar,^[48] which has been revised.

"Angreji Beat", the Punjabi song is by Yo Yo Honey Singh featuring Gippy Grewal, released in November 2011, is used in the beginning title credits portion of the film, along with the trailer. The background score is composed by Salim-Sulaiman.

Reception [edit]

The music album of Cocktail received positive reviews.Tumhi Ho Bandhu and Daaru Desi were high critical and commercial successes.It featured the three main protagonists. Pritam received many awards for Cocktail.Cocktail was the most listened album of 2012.Tumhi Ho Bandhu song got 1st position and Daaru Desi song got 11th position among top 100 songs of 2012.

Box office [edit]

Domestic [edit]

Cocktail had an excellent opening of 75–80% on average at multiplexes and having bumper opening at many multiplexes of North India at around 100%.^[50] The film had a very good first day as it collected around 107.5 million (US$2.0 million) nett on day one.^[51] It showed good growth on Saturday as it collected 117.5 million (US$2.2 million) nett.^[52] Cocktail had an extraordinary weekend at multiplexes than single screens as it notched up business of around 367.5 million (US$6.7 million) nett from both.^[53] Cocktail held up well on Monday as it collected around 60 million (US$1.1 million) nett^[54] Cocktail collected around 50 million (US$920,000) nett on Tuesday . The business after five days is approx 467.5 million (US$8.6 million) nett.^[55] Cocktail did good business in its first week as it grossed 545.0 million (US$10 million) nett approx. It is the first time that a multiplex targeted film has crossed the 500 million (US$9.2 million) nett mark in week one.^[56] Cocktail grossed 172.5 million (US$3.2 million) nett approx in week two.^[57] Cocktail fell badly in its third week due to new releases. The film has collected 722.5 million (US$13 million) nett in three weeks. It was declared a box office hit.^[5] At domestic market its final figures came at 750 million (US$14 million).^[58] The film's final all-India distributor share was 372.5 million (US$6.8 million)^[59]

Overseas [edit]

Cocktail opened well in overseas markets . The opening was around $2.6 million.^[60] Cocktail dropped in its second weekend and has grossed 207.1 million (US$3.8 million) in ten days.^[61] The film eventually collected US$ 4.50 million overseas.^[62]

Home video release [edit]

Cocktail was released on DVD and VCD by Eros International on 13 Sep 2012. The DVD is a 2-Disc edition, having Bonus Features on a separate DVD along with. The Blu-ray of Cocktail was released on 29 Sep 2012, again a 2-Disc edition (Blu-ray + DVD) with Bonus Features on the DVD.

Awards and Nominations [edit]

References [edit]

External links [edit]

• Cocktail at the Internet Movie Database