Cocktail 2 Movie Review:
There have been a lot of conversations recently, about the diminishing attention span of modern-day movie goers and how filmmakers are increasingly catering to an audience that is semi-distracted the moment they walk in. Faster cuts, more thunderous music, smaller build-ups to the conflict point. But what if an entire film is thinly disguised as a series of distractions?
I don’t know how to give a basic summary of this plot, but let me try — Kunal (Shahid Kapoor) and Diya (Rashmika Mandanna), a happily-living-in couple go for a trip to Sicily where Diya bumps into her old friend Ally (Kriti Sanon), a loose cannon if there was one. Beginning to harbour minor doubts on her relationship and Kunal’s loyalty, Diya sets up Ally to seduce Kunal, to see how loyal he is. As these stories often go, Ally, a happily unattached freebird, falls for Kunal. Meanwhile, what does Kunal feel about them?
Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Kriti Sanon, Rashmika Mandanna, Tiku Talsania
Directed by: Homi Adjania
We don’t know where Kunal stands, because Cocktail 2 writers (Luv Ranjan and Tarun Jain) are just not interested in their own characters. The core of any light-hearted rom-com is to get us either rooting or invested for at least one of the characters, if not them all. The closest we feel anything here is pity for Kunal (Shahid Kapoor), who gets played around like a ping-pong ball. Shahid Kapoor accurately plays his part with a goofy lightness, but his assured performance is not enough to distract us from the trainwreck figures that are Ally and Diya.
Kriti Sanon and Rashmika Mandanna struggle to lend empathy to two of the most off-putting female protagonists in an frustrating rom-com that’s too flippant and incurious. The makers here are clearly attempt to ruffle some feathers, and show some edgelord energy in the way they shape their plot. The film has the desperation of branding itself as a sequel to Cocktail, but the provocative energy is not accompanied by the curiosity of the 2012 film to explore a genuinely messed up equation between three people.
We never really understand why someone like Ally would fall for Kunal at first place. But the post-interval portions are frustrating on a different level, with the writers hell-bent in ensuring we don’t understand anything that Ally does. Diya might have her reasons for doing what she does, but her choices become increasingly unfathomable as the plot progresses. Rashmika gets the rawest deal of them all, struggling to bring any lovability to a half-baked character who is almost sidelined in her own story. There is a stray poignant moment where Ally hugs a homeless guy. This fleeting moment does a lot of heavy lifting in trying to make us care for Ally, when none of her actions seem redeemable otherwise.
In the hands of a more eager filmmaker, if I must make an optimistic guess, Cocktail 2 could have been a wacky comedy about three confused up who have no emotional maturity. Unfortunately, the makers here refuse to lean in on its comic possibilities, and are looking at shaping the film as a perfectly palatable potpourri for a half-distracted demographic.
Amidst all the bubblegum aesthetics, we get a glimpse of an occasional conversation that attempts to open up doors, but leads nowhere. There is also an occasional glimpse of exploring modern relationships. Are some secrets between two lovers fine? Does the willingness to get married directly correlate with the amount of love you have for someone? What is love if not a sustained, good habit? Is it wrong for love to be just a habit and comfort, and nothing more? Unfortunately, these momentary queries are buried deep down in a dogpile of escapist filmmaking choices which are only meant to keep you distracted and amused, never immersed. Cocktail 2 is so crowded with its relentless music and popping visual palette that one has no time to register any of the emotions that are possibly lurking around in those chaotic situations. So much of the narrative unfolds in montages that are mere embellishments, adding nothing to the vibe. There is absolutely no breather on a background score level, a choice that probably stems from the makers’ distrust on its audience. The edit is way too choppy, the shots don’t linger, and the mood never builds. It’s one colourful distraction after another (the incredible costumes being the best distraction among these).
In the last act, there is a scene where one of the key characters initiates a game that triggers some serious awkwardness in the room. The characters are compelled to confront some uncomfortable truths about themselves and each other. The awkwardness barely lasts five seconds before a tertiary character says, “Let's go back to playing Antakshari.”
That sums up Cocktail 2 — it’s a film too afraid to face its own messiness. This is cynical, insecure, and desperate filmmaking at its best.
