Tag: Jannat 2

Cocktail

Directed by Homi Adajania

Produced by Saif Ali Khan, Dinesh Vijan

Written by Imtiaz Ali, Sajid Ali

Starring: Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone, Diana Penty

 

Saif Ali Khan playing his umpteeth cool, flirty dude role, can’t carry it off now, at 40 plus. Which is one of the things Homi Adajania’s Cocktail got panned for, the other being its regressive stance towards women, while posing as a youth flick. The cheerful first half is absolutely at odds with the embarrassingly melodramatic and cliched second half.  What’s really sad is that in an urban story, set in London, the subservient girl gets the lechy guy, the wild girl was not thought worthy of even a jerk.

 

The film got 2 to 3.5 stars, and a good opening, but reluctant praise, mainly for it’s breezy first half.

 

Shubhra Gupta of the Indian Express wrote: “There’s this guy, he’s too cool, ya. Lives and works in London, chases girls, gets em, beds em, moves on. There’s this girl, she’s wild. Has this nice pad in a tony part of London, which she uses as a stop-over to change clothes in between all the partying. And, of course, there’s this other girl, who’s the ‘seedhi-saadhi’ type, you know, covered from top to toe, sweet, shy. Place these characters in a shiny glass jar, shake with a swizzle stick, and you get ‘Cocktail’. Which is just another name to call a one guy-two girls shtick, which is, as you and I know, one of the oldest in the book. ‘Cocktail’ starts off headily enough, and bubbles along till half time; post that, the sips get diluted, and the swallows take much longer.”

 

Rajeev Masand of IBN Live cribbed: “Alas, Cocktail, directed by Homi Adajania, is no saucy menage a trois, although it does involve three friends living together in London, a little too close for comfort. No, Cocktail falls firmly in the rom-com space. But even as the tone shifts uncomfortably from breezy, light-hearted fun, to heavy drama in the second half, you’re never in danger of actually caring for the cardboard characters in this empty souffle of a film.”

 

Raja Sen of rediff.com commented how spectacularly the film crashed and burned. “Adajania starts off breezily enough, all effortless-flirting and shotglasses and dramatically teary mascara, but the threadbare and increasingly inane plot unspools halfway through, leaving us with a shoddy, frustratingly random sequence of events. The last one-third of the film features the kind of emotional melee that can only be rightfully resolved by handing one of the girls a samurai sword. Alas, no such bloody respite is offered.”

 

Karan Anshuman of Mumbai Mirror was disappointed by the writer Imtiaz Ali’s cop  out: “(He) goes on to self-censor, Indianize, romanticize, emotionalize, ergo commercialize the experience and give us a 1 part alcohol and 10 part water cocktail, an exercise in pointlessness. We now have abla nari, the Indian mother pushing marriage, and a… you get the point. All of this is well disguised of course with cutting edge club eveningwear on Deepika Padukone and luscious London.”

 

Saibal Chatterjee was generous: “The heart has its reasons, the mind its methods. When the two are sought to be yoked together on Bollywood’s big romcom canvas, the result can be touch-and-go. One misstep either way could mean a hopeless nosedive either into mushy drivel or pretentious claptrap.  But no such worries here. For the most part, Cocktail, directed by Homi Adajania and scripted by Imtiaz Ali (a sort of high priest of the genre), steers clear of the pitfalls and delivers an eminently watchable love story that breaks the mould.”

 

Taran Adarsh wrote: “On the whole, Cocktail has a fascinating first half, charismatic performances, harmonious music and the trendy look and styling as its aces, but the second half is not as tempting or intoxicating as the first hour. It pales when compared to the attention-grabbing first hour. Yet, all said and done, this one’s primarily targeted at the Gen Next, especially those in metros, who might identify with the on-screen characters.”

 

Jannat 2

 

Directed by-Kunal Deshmukh

 

Produced by-Mahesh Bhatt, Mukesh Bhatt

 

Story by-Shagufta Rafique

 

Starring-Emraan Hashmi, Esha Gupta, Randeep Hooda Kunal Deshmukh’s Jannat 2, follows the Bhatt Brothers formula pretty faithfully. Crime, Sex, angst, Emraan Hashmi, in no particuar order of preference.

 

Critics were divided on this one with ratings going from 1 to 4. It has opened well proving that Hashmi has a fan following among those who don’t go by film reviews.

 

Sudhish Kamath of The Hindu titled it “Hardly Heaven” and wrote, “The fact that this is called Jannat 2 though it has no connection with Jannat except for the leading man and director only shows that the Bhatts are not ashamed to admit that they keep making the same film again and again (with Murder 2 or Raaz 3 coming up). Liked Murder? Then you’ll probably watch Murder 2.  Liked Jannat? Okay, here’s more of the same thing. The Bhatts have perfected this mass production with blatant disregard for originality or art by ripping off entire movies (like Murder 2 from The Chaser) or key moments here in Jannat 2 (from The Departed).”

 

Raja Sen of rediff.com was left cold too. He gave it one star and cribbed, “A lot would have been forgiven – as it often is with these producers – if the film had either a meatier plot or a more gripping narrative, but this one’s just tiresome as the obvious story drags on. A couple of chase sequences, particularly one through the arteries of a Dargah, are slickly shot, but even these lose their charm as they get needlessly long-winded. And finally, telling a bad actress she looks like Angelina Jolie is just cruel – to both her and to the audience forced to sit there while she tries to smile coyly through a silly pout.”

 

Rajeev Masand was kinder with 2.5 stars. “Jannat 2 isn’t all bad; in fact there are portions that are eminently watchable. Hashmi and Hooda play off nicely against each other, and their scenes together are particularly strong, occasionally laced with humour. The film also has at least two thrilling foot chase scenes, including one in the first half between two sets of cops and criminals that’s almost comical. The second chase, filmed in the crowded lanes of a dargah has an urgent breathless feel to it. If the film suffers, it’s because the material’s too slim. There just isn’t very much here apart from the obvious shades of The Departed, and some over-familiar scenarios of inter-gang rivalry. The film fully exploits its ‘Adult’ certification, peppering every scene with colourful Hindi cusswords, but after a while the graphic expletives seem excessive.”

 

Anupama Chopra gave it 2.5 too, but was not too impressed. “Logic isn’t a priority here. Deshmukh is creating an old-school Bollywood film with high drama, punchy dialogue, thunderous background music and villains who glare and maim with aplomb. Some sequences are nicely done, including a chase sequence in a dargah. Emraan Hashmi and Randeep Hooda are also extremely watchable. But there are no surprises here and by the second half, Jannat 2 starts to feel like an endurance test with your head being bludgeoned by the violence and incessant Hindi swear words.”

 

DNA’s Aakanksha Naval-Shetye & Chaya Unnikrishnan thought it worth 3 stars. “The action chase sequences in the dargah and the climax have been brilliantly executed and are worth a mention. Also unlike most films, the second half is actually better than the first. Kunal shows his tight grip on the film throughout and doesn’t let the film get neither preachy nor light-hearted, balancing finely between the serious nature of the topic and entertainment. The music is in tandem with the film. Emraan’s chemistry with his leading ladies has always been the talking point in all his films. But in this one, it’s clearly his chemistry with Randeep that steals the limelight and it’s this ‘jugalbandi’ between the cop and the criminal that makes the film worth a one time watch for sure.”

 

Taran Adarsh of bollywoodhungama.com was one of the small 4 star clan. “Jannat 2 is a compelling account of a conflicted man who ultimately faces the effects of his deeds. The movie advocates that firearms and cartridges are the actual perpetrators accountable for the fatalities and killings of blameless people. Jannat 2 is ingeniously fashioned and skillfully filmed, while the characters are pertinent and compelling. On the whole, Jannat 2 is an engaging film with tremendous appeal for the masses. An absorbing story, a swift and coherent narrative, exemplary direction, fantastic action, soothing music and stellar performances summarize the highlights of this triumphant franchise.”

 

Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express isn’t half as gushy. “Don’t be fooled. This is not a sequel to ‘Jannat’, in which match-fixing shenanigans in high profile cricket matches gave Emran Hashmi and Kunal Deshmukh a fertile hunting ground, and us a watchable film. ‘Jannat 2’ is, for the most part, a badly-done, badly-acted enterprise, lifted only a notch by a couple of performances.”