‘Cocktail 2’ review: A fizz-free, tedious love triangle

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 –...

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