COCKTAIL 2 REVIEW: A sobering enterprise

Homi Adjania’s Cocktail 2 is the spiritual sequel to his own 2012 film Cocktail starring Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone, Diana Penty – a love triangle referencing Archie comics and doffing its hat to the Betty and Veronica prototype .

The latest offering written by Luv Ranjan and Tarun Jain once again gives us a menage à trois where two women Diya and Ally ( Rashmika Mandana and Kriti Sanon) fight over the affection and affectation of one man Kunal( Shahid Kapoor) . And once again the exotic locations and risqué outfits cannot hide a safe , domesticated , traditional core lurking underneath all that gloss.

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Kunal and Diya are college sweethearts whose 10 year relationship now rests on a familiar snooze button. Both Diya and the audience are left waiting for the next logical step but Kunal seems to be in no rush. A trip to Sicily provides plenty of visual pleasure offering both a sun kissed Mediterranean backdrop and an absolutely gorgeous Ally played effortlessly by Kriti Sanon.

The limerence is on full display. It is entirely to Sanon’s credit and her buoyant beach waves that while the story idles at a toll plaza waiting for its signal to move ahead, we cannot take our eyes off the screen. Her incandescent presence holds the frame even as Rashmika’s Hindi diction comes to a screeching halt.

A step-by-step reconstruction of the old formula brings us to a dramatic second half and climax. Both women eventually accuse Kunal of being non-confrontational. Of doing things just to please others and never facing unpleasantness head-on.
The irony is that the film suffers from the exact same syndrome it diagnoses in its hero. Despite the plunging necklines, the riding hemlines, a polished modern exterior, the film still clings tightly to an institutionalized morality. Its complete refusal to even entertain temptation, transgressionor any real questioning of the status quo ends up feeling like the film’s own quiet confession. It has an A certification alright but it wants to “look” daring without ever showing any real gumption. Then again, analyzing that might be giving too much depth to a film that explicitly wants its beauty to remain skin-deep.

There isundeniablya genuine fizz in Shahid and Kriti’s onscreen pairing. The chemistry does most of the heavy lifting. It’s the sort of film where none of the characters seem gainfully employed, and marrying their partner appears to be their only real preoccupation in life.

Ultimately the story delivers a ‘play as much as you want, but come home before it gets dark’ parental-check of an ending. Amidst it all, Shahid seems to have had the most fun, while Kriti Sanon’s considerable efforts to lift the narrative into something resembling a heady concoction remain the film’s high point. A generous 3 stars out of 5 for being easy on the eyes !

The reviewer is a freelance contributor. Views are personal.