Remember Emotional Atyachar ? That iconic reality show where suspicious partners would put their relationships through elaborate loyalty tests, only for everything to explode spectacularly on television? Cocktail 2 feels like an expensive version of that show. This time, the loyalty test comes with A-listers, designer wardrobes, Sicilian sunsets, chartbuster music and a Bollywood budget.
The film follows Shahid Kapoor and Rashmika Mandanna 's seemingly stable relationship, which is shaken up when Kriti Sanon 's character enters their lives. What follows is a glossy, good-looking exploration of temptation, commitment and modern love, or at least that's what director Homi Adajania wants us to believe. Because for a film obsessed with showing the many sides of a relationship, Cocktail 2 never actually makes us invest in one in the first place.
We are told that Kunal and Diya (Shahid and Rashmika) have been together for 16 years. They are supposedly so in love that they view marriage as little more than a legal document. But the film barely spends time building the emotional foundation that would make us care when things begin to fall apart. On the other hand, Ally (Kriti) initially sets out to seduce Kunal, only to fall in love with him. How do we believe that what started as performative and pretentious is something to root for?
The film does raise some genuinely interesting questions. What if you want a relationship but not marriage? What happens when comfort starts feeling boring? Have social media and dating apps convinced us that love should always feel exciting? Is commitment becoming scarier than heartbreak? These are conversations worth having, but the problem is that Cocktail 2 understands the vocabulary of modern relationships, not the reality of them.
The original Cocktail (2012), despite releasing over a decade ago, had a far better grasp on love, friendship and heartbreak. Veronica was chaotic, flawed and impulsive, but she felt real. You understood why people loved her, probably because she had a heart. Here, neither does the character have a heart nor a mind. Everyone feels like they are moving according to the screenplay's convenience rather than their emotions.
The biggest disservice the film does is to Rashmika. Her character reduces her to a girlfriend who is insecure, irrational and even said to be dominating. She is also painted as the plain Jane in front of Kriti's firebrand and glamorous part. While Rashmika's inconsistent Hindi delivery needs improvement, you eventually feel sorry for how inconsistent her character shapes up.
Kriti does get the interesting bits. Ally knows she's attractive, the effect she has on people, and she isn't afraid to use that charm. But the issue isn't that Kriti's character is confident, but she, too, is shaped to extremes. There are moments where Ally comes across as manipulative, selfish and toxic.
However, two successful, independent women fighting over the same man in 2026 feels not just absurd but also unrealistic. Not because love triangles can't work, but because the film never convinces us why this particular man is worth turning friendships and relationships upside down for. The conflict feels manufactured, almost as if the screenplay is determined to create chaos regardless of whether it feels believable.
And ironically, Shahid ends up being the most likeable person in the film. He's the greenest forest imaginable. This is a man who cooks kadhi chawal for his girlfriend's friend, values emotional comfort, prioritises his partner, and genuinely believes that love is about choosing someone repeatedly.
It's perhaps the film's most interesting idea: that comfort isn't boring; that excitement fades, that real relationships are built in the ordinary. In an age where every romance is expected to be a picture-perfect Instagram post, this thought gives you hope. Unfortunately, this insight arrives after two hours of emotional chaos.
Because for the most part, Cocktail 2 often does feel like rage bait for millennials who grew up believing in love, commitment and friendship. It presents relationships as fragile things that can collapse the moment someone attractive enters the room. It makes love feel flimsy, transactional and alarmingly disposable.
Visually, the film is stunning, and Sicily's gorgeous landscape is postcard-worthy. The songs work, the styling is fabulous, and every frame looks expensive. However, the chemistry doesn't land. Even the laughter feels so fake. And the supposedly fun moments seem forced.
In a nutshell, Cocktail 2 is a beautiful-looking love story with surprisingly little love in it. By the end, you'll remember the songs, the locations and the outfits, but you'll probably want to forget the characters and the story.
Before the release, there was a rumour around the film tapping into same-sex relationships . Wish the makers had actually picked that and not this eye-rolling plot line.
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Published By:
Vineeta Kumar
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