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Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Cocktail ...bitter tale!


Being disappointed with Hindi cinema I had stopped going to the theatre. Then came Cocktail, looking fresh with pretty girls, stunning locations, and well, hummable songs. If you watch the movie from entertainment point of you, you would probably not be disappointed. But it hurts at many other levels.

Veronica (Deepika Padukone) is a 'bad' girl. She drinks, goes to pubs, wears skimpy clothes and sleeps with random men. Her parents have probably abandoned her with oodles of money. She has no purpose in life. Enter Meera (Diana Penty) - a timid girl abandoned by her husband on the streets of London with no where to go. This Salwar Kurta clad damsel meets Veronica in a drug store and accepts her invitation to stay with her.
As fate would have it, they become best friends and Meera shows off her petite figure with much ease. No, she doesn't start drinking and sleeping with random men. Why she didn't take the other 'bad' girl traits from Veronica is a mystery.

Saif plays the charmless casanova. His and Veronica's is the perfect jodi. For kahaani mein twist, Saif tells Meera how she's adorable and how she will meet a man who will never leave her side. And that was it. He becomes a good guy who falls in love with Meera and she reciprocates. This good girl becomes hungry-for-love-backstabbing bitch!
Veronica also realises how her life is vain and how she needs a house and a husband to pamper her. Ok, hungry-for-love-sati-savitri. Meera leaves Saif for her best friend Veronica. Veronica does everything to gain Saif's love. But obviously Saif wants what he cannot have - Meera.

Anyway, the story is not important. I wanted to see a liberated woman, who she is, till the climax of the film. I didn't want her to change for a typical Indian man with double standards. Why is a girl who is 'bold' termed 'bad' and a girl who isn't loyal to her friend termed 'good'? Why are 'shorts' bad and 'salwar kurta' good? If I don't pray, can't cook or can't impress the mother-in-law, I'm not suitable for a boy? Saif's mom Dimple tells Veronica, 'tum ladki achi ho, par kapde bahut chote pehenti ho'. Disgusting!

Bollywood is an important medium of showing the world what India is. Heck, it is an important medium of showing who we are to our own countrymen and mother-in-laws. Indian girls are not who they were 50 years ago. We have changed, for our own good. Clothes and alcohol certainly don't define us. According to the media, we take home the good girls and we play with the bad ones.Why? I don't even think that this is entirely true. We can't blame the Guwahati men if we accept this movie with open arms. Afterall, the girl was drinking and probably not dressed in Salwar Kurta - she was indeed a 'bad' girl. Ofcourse they had no right to judge her and ill-treat her, but it's our moral responsibility to show her the 'right' path.

We need writers, movie makers, journalists, to tell these men how wrong they are. Movies like Cocktail will do no good to our scarred society. For heaven's sake, don't watch it.






15 comments:

  1. I completely agree. It was a stupid movie which yet again stereotyped the Indian girl. I was relieved when it ended.

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  2. Been reading a lot of similar opinions on this movie.. cant believe they actually were claiming this was a supercool Archie-Betty-Veronica thing when all they were doing was showcasing the typical Indian mentality... sad really !

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  3. I still have hopes with Hindi Cinema.
    But I have totally given up on Indian TV. Its been a decade and the saas-bahi are still there on primetime :|

    Ofcourse now with Bihari and Rajasthani accents. I really wish producers come with different shows. Its not just about daily soaps and drama,there is nothing new. No good talk shows,game shows,documentries. Nothing !

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  4. @Amit - There were parts in the movie tht made me laugh like the conversation between Boman and Dimple, Saif's girlish dance,and thats it. Wish they dealt with Deepika's character in a more mature way.

    @Roshan - now when you will watch the movie you will hate it more.Because you will notice weird traits in Deepika's character more than I did.Meri batti der se jali!

    @Ritika - oh hindi serials...how can I forget them! They should have a set time frame..start with ur theme, show relevant stuff and finish the drama.most,no all, of them lose it when they have to complete 1000 episodes!!

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  5. Girl power, live on!

    Btw, I nominated you for beautiful blogger award. Here's why http://memoirsofasassygirl.blogspot.com/2012/07/a-tribute-to-bob-ross.html

    :)

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  6. @Jenny: That's really sweet of you!! Thanks a ton :D

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  7. I haven't watched the movie. Yet a doubt. Why do we always have short christian ( yes, i am picking up a religion) names for the not-so-ideal girls? Betty, Sonia, Veronica. And on contrast, the good ones have divine hindu names. Yikes!

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  8. You got it bang on....by showing women who are independent as sluts what seeds of thought are we putting into men. Its no wonder that women who visit pubs in metros are molested time and again

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  9. @Pesto: Bollywood and other forms of media that influence millions, needs to grow up. We need to accept the modern woman for who she is and not what she does or wears. It will take some conditioning, but hopefully it will happen.

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  10. @Arch: Yes, very true. They give western attributes, 'western' names and western clothes but they fail to give western mentality to their characters. No liberal thinking Brad will ever look at a dumb, if-i-don't-drink-wine-I'm-divine Meera!

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  11. Anonymous8/10/2012

    And that's why I refuse to watch Bollywood movies. I'm sick and tired of girls being portrayed 'bad' just because they wear what they want, assert their views, sleep with the men they want, drink and smoke. And you know, it's not just the movies. So many books by Indian authors have the girls portrayed that way when they move out of India and then somehow, they 'find themselves' and become 'good' and stop drinking and smoking and sleeping with men. Gah!!!

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    Replies
    1. it's really irritating. Hopefully, one day, one of us will write a character that will defy all traditions and still be a good girl. I mean, how tough is that?

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  12. Totally agree my friend!!

    I'm a complete Veronica and am marrying into a typical orthodox Brahmin family. And yeah, without changing even a bit. My man loves me for what I am and so does his family. If it can happen in real life, why not in the movies? No, audience won't accept it. Remember the flak KJo received for Kabhi Alvida na Kehna. Funny it is.

    Girl power!!

    Love,
    Soumya

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    Replies
    1. I'm so happy to hear this! Glad that your man and his family loves you for who you are and not what you do, wear or drink. We need more people like you and your new family to change the restricted mindset that we have in India.

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  13. haha love your take on the movie and agree with it so much. I really don't understand why they had to make the character of veronica change into a sati savitri that too for Saif's character who has no backbone at all..many people loved this movie ughh..

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Your sweetness makes my day. Gentle criticism will be taken in the right spirit too :)