Cocktail review : "Impressively executed!!!"

After more than a month since its official launch, "Cocktail" finally released in Bangalore. This marked the directorial debut of Arun Kumar who is very popular as being the favourite editor of Priyan,with their relationship even extending upto his last released venture "Aakrosh". Hmm, so will this talented editor be a smart director as well...lets see how he fared in my view.

 
The plot is definitely lifted off Brosnan-Gerald Butler starrer "Shattered" / "Butterfly on a Wheel".For the benefit of those who havent seen the original, here's a peek view. The story showcases Anoop Menon (as Ravi Abraham) being a successful architect happily married to Samvrutha Sunil (as Parwathy) & blessed with a daughter, Ammu. Inevitably, with success comes enemies & the initial portions of the movie throws light on the professional life of Ravi. Their life gets turned upside down with the kidnap of their daughter, masterminded by Jayasurya (as Venky) who had hitched a ride with them on the pretext of his car being broken down. What then follows is a gripping story as to what all they are made to sacrifice & perform on Venky's orders so as to save Ammu. What was Venky's motive??? why were they chosen ??? & will they escape from his grasp...the answers to all these is revealed in the latter half of the movie.

Coming to the directorial debut of Arun Kumar, he has definitely inculcated the traits of ripping off a movie to perfection from Priyan & then remaking it in a way palatable to the Malayali audience. Though the story by Anoop Menon didnt have any variations with respect to the original, it was definitely able to hook up the attention of the audience. The music composed by Alphonse & Ratheesh Vegha didnt have much to write about with "Neeyaam Thanalinu" rendered by Vijay Yesudas being the best among the lot though the background score was very much in tune with the mood of the film.

The real star of the movie is undoubtedly Jayasurya; just as I had mentioned even in my previous reviews..he always tries to do something different in terms of script selection & actual characterization with variations in slang, appearance etc. Here also he is totally at ease easing the negative character, who seems hell bent in making the life of others a living hell. Samvrutha has delivered a decent performance though Anoop Menon could have been a little more convincing coz at times his facial expressions is not in sync with the situation of the movie.A special mention goes to Kani, who had impressively essayed a 5 minute role of a sex worker. She continues to amaze the audience with her naturality be it the girl friend of Prithvi in "Kerala Cafe" or the Naxalite in "Shikar"

Verdict: Its undoubtedly one of the best movies that has released in Malayalam this year.The lack of an imposing star cast has been its bane on the initial days, but the movie is likely to pick up by word of mouth. It will definitely entertain you with its suspense & my advice to all of you guys would be to watch it!!!

Regards...Ben