There
is nothing in 'Cocktail' that you have not seen before. It has been
well and truly documented in every love triangle film with two girls
and one boy! So there are no surprises here, nothing to leave you
with a feeling of awe.
Considering
the change of times, of course, the film has a language that is much
more contemporary or in other words- more explicit. For instance,
earlier where the “friendly” female character amongst the two
girls world always be tom boyish, here Veronica is almost
floozy. A high flying bohemian girl who gets drunk most nights at
high decibel discos and has sex with random men.
Gautam
is the typical cool dude- smart, suave and well provided for- hitting
on every good looking girl and cheerfully cruising through life with
a smirk on his face and a 'mast-maula' attitude.
Meera
on the contrary is a conservative. She believes in all those traits
that today's modernistic generation is guilty to own up or is proud
to disown. Traits that are today considered archaic! In short, she
does not approve of getting drunk and have frivolous sex. She
believes in honoring the institution of marriage even if it might
bring with it some pain and compromise.
A
(hurried) series of events bring Gautam, Veronica and Meera
together. Naturally the happy-go-lucky Gautam and the 'fun' loving
Veronica begin their sleep fest. Veronica is vocal about her
association with Gautam being no holds barred. Although, Meera often
politely whispers her disapproval of such an arrangement to Veronica
she dismisses it off as her lack of being 'hip'!
“Relax
Meera”, Veronica tells her, “He is cool, fun...and new! We hare
just having fun yaar. It'll last for a few days or at the most some
weeks then I'll get bored. Besides, he is really good in bed!”
Such
is their new-age young fun filled life.
But
then enters the “old world, Indian value system” through Gautam's
mother!! She is determined- like every mother- to get her son
married. Although excessively intrusive, expressive and conservative,
her warmth is hard to miss.
Even
for the high on life 'whatever' Veronica the warmth that
Gautam's mother oozes is hard to dodge. The girl for whom clothes and
marriage were as obtrusive as an eyelid in the eye, puts on a
salwar-kameez and gushes about marriage to Gautam.
Of
course this transformation happens on the very day our cool boy with
the Indian heart has tumbled lock stock and barrel in love with
Meera!!
Often
“what” happens in such films is not determinant of
the audience. It is “how” it happens that seals the
fate of the film.
Before
watching the film I was discouraged to see it by all those who had.
Half hour into the film I began regretting my decision. But then came
that scene! It was that one scene which has made me- if not rave
then at least rant in favor of the film. No reason why it should be
avoided.
It
was this 'one' scene that made this film a watchable experience for
me. It not only justified its contemporary setting as being much more
than just candy floss but made it inevitable to the message that the
story wished to convey.
The
scene in question came on 5 minutes post interval when the triangle
had been established. Unlike any other such film wherein a Meera
would be guilty for falling in love with Gautam (who was after all
sleeping with Veronica) or
a Gautam who would try convincing Meera to not be guilty or a
Veronica would accidentally find out what was really going on.... in
this particular scene-
Gautam
makes the girls sit down on kitchen stools and lays out the problem
simply- “Veronica, we have a problem”, he says, “You love me
and I love her and she too loves me but will not say so because you
are her best friend!!” BANG! NOW WHAT??
I
was hooked on from there for 2 reasons-
How will 'these' three people deal with this? Especially Gautam and Veronica who are- 'oh so cool!' and,- How will the writer- Imtiaz Ali and director- Homi Adjania- both cool themselves- make them deal with it?
May
be it was personal, but I have met people in my life who strive hard
to be 'cool' and 'hip'. People who look down on all things
traditional or challenge every norm only to become some twisted
'cocktail' of their own creation!
Now
here on screen were such 'cool' people who too are repulsed with
'drama'. People who like to keep it 'practical'. Especially Veronica
who has taken pride in being bohemian. She has openly twisted her
nose at Gautam's mothers' traditional manner and mocked at Meera's
conservative ways. “Whats the big deal?”, has been her mantra.
How will she cope with this? How will her 'defense mechanism' break?
How
will the usually scattered Gautam deal with two of his best friends,
both of whom are so diverse? Has he really made up his mind or is he
going to swing back and forth making things worse?
Meera
of course is predictable. She is too sweet. You are compelled to love
her. She does no wrong. She will sacrifice. It is evident! It would
be disappointing to let her down -And that is where I felt lied one
loop hole among many.
Veronica's
character played exceptionally well by Deepika has been done most
justice to. It was wise of her to pick that one of the two offered to
her but also for a new comer to hold fort with a one dimensional-
Meera- Diana Penty deserves special mention. I could watch Cocktail
again just for her smile! Saif as Gautam does what he does too
effortlessly making us feel he is being himself!
To
conclude- what I gathered from Cocktail was a conflict that most of
Generation Y is going through by being someone who they are not. No
matter how cool or disconnected one tries to be... at the end of the
day, you cannot run away from who you truly are. If that was the
message that Cocktail had, unfortunately it comes out at a few
scattered instances. May be one has to really look for it. I wish
this thought would have come out more clearly through the film. I
wonder why it did not.
As
such while Cocktail can surely be savored, I guess they added a few
extra cubes of ice... it might thus not be to everyone's taste! ;)
