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If Dil Chahta Hai was revolutionarily modern urban for its time a quarter of a century ago, Cocktail 2 in mainstream Hindi cinema, is as avant-garde today as that film then. From conventional to unconventional and back, the film celebrates relationships with uninhibited abandon, sheer relish and complete nonchalance.
The premise itself sets the ball rolling: college mates-turned-lovers Kunal (Shahid Kapoor), a chef, and Diya (Rashmika Mandanna), an architect, have been living together for years. Fed up of their families asking them when they plan to settle down in marriage, they take off to Sicily for a coo-some break.
However, over there, they stumble upon Diya’s university classmate Ally (Kriti Sanon), who is earning her living there as a dance instructor. A beautiful, feisty girl with an unceasing love for the unconventional, she fights boredom by changing professions (!), locations (even countries!) and partners.
Diya agrees to Ally’s suggestion to drop their tourist itinerary to get a glimpse of “the real Sicily” through her. As they chat, Ally understands and appreciates the Kunal-Diya bond. But Diya, based on an inebriated remark made by Kunal back in India among friends that he would never get caught if he cheated on her, tells Ally that she wants to test his love for her. For this, she suggests that Ally can start making overtures to him. Ally playfully agrees but also warns Diya that she is the one who has always left her partners but she cannot tolerate “rejection” if he proves his loyalty to Diya!
The very next day on, Ally and Diya engineer things so that Kunal and Ally are thrown together in outings for the next three days. But Diya’s plan finally boomerangs, as expected, when Ally falls for the simple Kunal. And this spells trouble when Kunal and Diya finally decide to marry.
This blithe triangle is replete with sequences that are not merely visually picturesque (thanks to the locations and DOP Santhana Krishnan Ravichandran’s magnificent work, Costanza Gelardi’s sets and the production design by Bindiya Chhabria and Arvind Ashok Kumar) but invigoratingly human. Homi Adajania as director never descends into the trivial, typical or trite. He keeps a firm hand on the three protagonists and ensures that they never slip.
On the flipside, the turnaround between Diya and Ally seems too sudden despite its inherent logic, and the only ‘filmi’touch comes in for a few minutes during the pre-wedding festivities, stretching the film by about 10 to 15 minutes. But the climax and post-climax are endearing and lift the film, with the final twist from Kunal and Ally being a super one, especially when viewed from Diya’s perspective. Those who watch the film will understand exactly what I mean. After this tangy dose of spice, we leave the movie hall with a sweet memory of three utterly lovable characters and their bond.
Giving it their all are Shahid Kapoor, Rashmika Mandanna and above all, Kriti Sanon, the titan of Cocktail 2. Streets ahead of all her performances and on par with her super robot act in Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya, coincidentally opposite the same Shahid Kapoor, here is a performance also matching, if not surpassing, her deserving National award-winning turn in that below-average film, Mimi. In one word, Kriti is supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!
Wow! Here’s the even stranger coincidence: all these three films are co-produced by Dinesh Vijan!!
Giving Kriti great company is Shahid Kapoor. He maintains a steadfast temperament throughout, even when confronted by the challenges posed by Ally’s ardor for him. He is superb in his drunken sequences and his carefree outdoor sojourns minus wife with her friend are absolutely fantastic in his small nuances.
Rashmika Mandanna has the least demanding role of the three, but with expressions on point, she delivers what may be termed her finest performance in an original Hindi film. The support has barely anything to do, with Tiku Talsania as Kunal’s father having a few minutes. The couple’s friends are all competent.
Pritam’s music adds to the appeal. My favorites are Main nachoo jab talak and Tujhko. His background score under‘scores’ his brilliance in that department. Amitabh Bhattacharya yet again shows his lyrical dexterity.
To sum up, when I had first tasted an epic brand of liqueur, I found its taste fresh and energizing, but it was the aftertaste that truly was savor-worthy. As a supreme improvement over the first Cocktail, this film is as delectable as that spirited digestif, pun intended.
Rating: ****
Maddock Films’ & Luv Films’ Cocktail 2 Produced by: Dinesh Vijan, Pramita Rayssa Vijan, Luv Ranjan & Ankur Garg Directed by: Homi Adajania Written by: Luv Ranjan & Tarun Jain Music: Pritam Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Kriti Sanon, Rashmika Mandanna, Tiku Talsania, Kannan Arunachalam, Suparna Marwah, Neelu Kohli, Shashi Bhardwaj, Nishchay Malik, Deepak Kalra & others Sp. App.: Pulkit Samrat
