Kunal and Diya are a long-term, live-in couple. Lovey-dovey and touchy-clingy, they see no need to formalise their relationship. Yet, for no discernible reason, Diya (Rashmika Mandanna) gets triggered by a stray remark by Kunal (Shahid Kapoor) and decides to test him on his fidelity.
During a vacation in Sicily, Diya recruits her old friend Ally (Kriti Sanon) to reel out the bait and see if Kunal will take it. Ally is a committed singleton and hedonist with kilolitres of wine in her system and a naughty smile on her face.
But Kunal proves to be formidable. He has something in him that converts Ally from seducer to seduced, supportive friend to potential relationship-breaker.
Fourteen years after Homi Adajania’s Cocktail, two gorgeous, intelligent and independent women are still fighting for the affections of a man. The previous movie had more convincing actors – especially a terrific Deepika Padukone – and a screenplay by Imtiaz Ali that struck the correct radical poses while upholding tradition.
Cocktail 2 gets as much mileage out of its Mediterranean locations as possible before revealing a typically Indian, and conservative, streak. Written by Tarun Jain and Luv Ranjan – whose mistrust of the motives of women is present in all his works – the film steadily marches from sun-kissed winery to stuffy moral science classroom.
The heavily laboured love triangle here is between Kunal’s saintliness, Diya’s anxiety and Ally’s aggressive sexuality. The women appear sillier and sillier as the 150-minute film drags on with seemingly no end in sight.
Diya’s whole world comes to revolve around whether or not Kunal and Ally are an item. Rashmika Mandanna is given almost no scenes to prove that Diya has a brain, or a spine. Mandanna’s command over Hindi remains dodgy, making already clunky lines harder to follow.
Kriti Sanon has the meatier role – and the worse deal. Poorly styled, with streaked hair and costumes made up largely of crocheted strings and swatches, Sanon lays it on too thick as pre-Kunal Ally and then vamps heavily in her Kunal phase.
The chemistry between Kriti Sanon and Shahid Kapoor is missing too. However, Kapoor fares the best in Cocktail 2, apt as the loyal boyfriend who confronts temptation with a mix of pleasure and puzzlement. Kapoor is fully aware that Cocktail 2 is all about the glory of Kunal, and acts accordingly.
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