The theatrical release of Cocktail 2, which arrived at the box office yesterday, has brought back in discourse its spiritual predecessor Cocktail, the 2012 hit which starred Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone and Diana Penty. The film, owing to its massively popular soundtrack and Deepika Padukone’s turn as Veronica, was a commercial hit. In a recent hit, Saif revealed that he wasn’t the first choice for the role, also sharing why he agreed to do it.
Speaking to Variety, Saif stated, “They had Deepika and Diana, but they couldn’t get a hero to play the part, probably because Veronica’s part is so delicious,” he said, referring to Padukone’s character.
The Kartavya actor also revealed that Cocktail was initially offered to many other actors became he came on board. “I remember some names they asked. I think they had asked Imran and they had asked Ranbir. They had asked a few people and I said, ‘Okay, chal, I’ll do it.’ And I think they should all be very thankful I did (laughs). That’s my story. Yeah, because I had great fun,” he said.
While the film received plenty of criticism for its conventional ending, Cocktail nonetheless emerged as one of the biggest money spinners of that year. Deepika later went on to work with director Homi Adjania in Finding Fanny (2014).
